Poland confirms Russian Kh-101 missile fell in Lublin region during mass attack on Ukraine

A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile fell in Poland's Lublin region on July 30 during Russia's mass attack on Ukraine, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk confirmed in an interview with RMF24.

The Russian missile entered Polish airspace and landed in a field in eastern Poland in the early hours of July 30 as Ukraine came under the large-scale Russian aerial assault involving 74 cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles, as well as 284 Shahed-type drones. The mass attack targeted six Ukrainian regions, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 50 others.

"It was a provocation, an intention, an alliance test. In this case, the next weeks will probably give us more answers," Tomczyk said on July 31. "Let's not have any illusions, this type of situation or such provocations will happen."

Tomczyk added that about 20 Russian missiles were headed toward Poland but were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses.

The deputy defense minister said a Ukrainian fighter pilot pursued the missile that ultimately landed on Polish territory until just before it crossed the border. According to Tomczyk, the pilot turned back about 20 seconds before the missile entered Poland because crossing into Polish airspace carried the risk of being engaged by Polish F-16 fighter jets.

The Polish Air Force scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to intercept an unidentified object that entered its airspace at 3:40 a.m. local time, but it disappeared from radar six minutes later, according to the Operational Command of the Armed Forces.

The missile reportedly landed near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the Polish-Ukrainian border and 150 kilometers (93 miles) northwest of Lviv, where at least 38 people were injured in the attack. The missile's impact left a crater in the field.

After the Russian missile landed in Poland on July 30, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw would consider supplying Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense missiles to help counter Russia's increasingly frequent ballistic missile attacks.

The July 30 incident is the latest in a series of cases in which Russian missiles and drones have entered Polish airspace since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A Russian missile entered Polish airspace during another large-scale attack on Ukraine on Dec. 29, 2023, prompting Poland to place its air defenses on high alert. Earlier, on Nov. 15, 2022, a missile landed in Poland during a Russian mass strike, killing two civilians.

Polish investigators later concluded that the projectile was a stray Ukrainian air defense missile launched to intercept the Russian attack.

In September 2025, 19 Russian drones also entered Polish airspace, prompting consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.