A missile believed to be a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crossed into Nato member Poland and appears to have exploded in a field near Lublin at close to 4 am on July 30, leaving a 10-metre crater but causing no casualties or reported damage.

The missile came down near Tarnawa-Kolonia in Lublin province, about 2 kilometres from the nearest buildings, as Russia carried out a large-scale overnight missile and drone attack across neighbouring Ukraine.

“Everything indicates that it was a Russian Kh-101 missile,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during an emergency meeting in Lublin. “We were ready to shoot down the missile had it continued its flight.”

The Ukrainian side also hinted strongly to the missile type and where it was launched from.

“Overnight, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crossed into Poland as part of a massive Russian strike on Ukraine, violating Nato airspace,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. 

“This is another clear demonstration that strengthening Ukraine’s air defence is now urgent and serves as a guarantee of protection for the entire Euro-Atlantic community,” Sybiha added.

Tusk cautioned that investigators still needed to establish conclusively what type of projectile had entered Poland, who launched it and whether its warhead exploded or if the impact alone produced the crater.

Polish and allied surveillance systems detected intensive activity by Russian long-range aviation and tracked at least a dozen missiles over western Ukraine, the Polish Armed Forces’ Operational Command, known by its Polish acronym DORSZ, said.

“An unidentified object moving westwards was detected in Polish airspace” at 3.40am, DORSZ said. An on-duty F-16 was dispatched to identify and intercept it, but the object disappeared from radar six minutes later before it could be positively identified.

Local police responding to reports of a powerful blast eventually discovered the crater and scattered debris.

Russia launched 74 missiles and 284 drones against Ukraine during the night, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Ukrainian forces shot down or suppressed 55 missiles and 265 drones.

At least eight people were killed and dozens injured, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.