Russian drone crashed and exploded on Polish territory, Warsaw says

Meduza.io

A Russian drone crashed and exploded in eastern Poland on Tuesday night, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said. He called the incident a “provocation” by Moscow, according to the newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

“Russia is once again provoking NATO countries — after the drone incidents in Romania, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as repeated violations of airspace across nearly all NATO states, especially in Scandinavia, the Baltics, and also Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Once again we are dealing with a provocation by Russia using a Russian drone,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

He noted that the incident came at a “critical moment,” as Ukraine and its allies step up efforts to secure a ceasefire or end the war.

According to the Polish news agency PAP, the drone crashed into a cornfield in the village of Osiny in Lublin Voivodeship. The explosion, which was captured on video, caused no injuries but shattered windows in several nearby houses.

🇵🇱 Na území Lublinského vojvodství došlo k pádu neznámého objektu, který explodoval v okrese Łuków na východě Polska. Podle předběžných informací při incidentu nikdo neutrpěl zranění.
📹 Na sociálních sítích se nyní objevilo video z kamerového systému - záběry pocházejí z polské… pic.twitter.com/LnXHxuV3AO

— neČT24 (@42TCen) August 20, 2025

Polish authorities have opened an investigation. Initially, it was unclear what had fallen. At the blast site, investigators found a crater and scattered metal and plastic debris. The military initially reported that no airspace violations had been detected that night.

Later, Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed it was a Russian drone. Polish military spokesman Dariusz Malinowski said it was likely a decoy model without a warhead, though it carried a small amount of explosives. He said the drone likely avoided detection because it flew at very low altitude. Poland’s Foreign Ministry has threatened to submit an official protest over the breach of its airspace.