Russia Accused by Poland for Drone Mishap
In the early hours of Wednesday, an explosion rocked a cornfield in the small town of Osiny, located in the Lubelskie Voivodeship, a region that borders Ukraine and Belarus to the east, approximately 100 kilometers south of Warsaw.
The flying object that crashed in the field has been identified as a Russian military drone, according to Polish authorities. While the specific model of the drone is not explicitly stated, it is suspected to be a version of the Russian Geran-2 drone, a type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) regularly used for decoy purposes in Russia's air attacks on Ukraine.
The prosecutor in charge of the investigation reported a crater about six meters in diameter and 50 centimeters deep at the impact site. Police officers found burned plastic and metal debris at the scene, and videos from local portal LukowTV showed a flash of light and a loud bang at the impact site. Fortunately, no casualties were reported, but windows in nearby buildings were damaged.
The incident did not result in a violation of Polish airspace, and the Polish Defense Minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, condemned the incident as a provocation by Russia. Kosiniak-Kamysz informed all NATO allies about the incident.
Onet published pictures from social media showing a charred engine with a propeller, and videos from the scene captured the aftermath of the explosion.
This is not the first time Poland has experienced airspace violations by Russian military aircraft since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine more than three and a half years ago. In November 2022, two people were killed when a Ukrainian air defense missile crashed near the Polish-Ukrainian border village of Przewodów. About a year later, a Russian missile briefly entered Polish airspace.
The Russian drone that reportedly crashed near Osiny on the morning of February 1, 2023, is the latest in a series of incidents that have raised tensions between Poland and Russia. The sources for this information are Polish media, citing sources in the defense ministry, ntv.de, mli/dpa/AFP.
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