Russian drone struck 4 km from Polish border, Warsaw scrambled fighter jets - Tusk
On September 17, Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to a Russian attack with jet-powered drones on western Ukraine. According to preliminary data from Polish military, one of the drones hit a target or was shot down approximately 4 km from the Polish border, near Yagodyn in Ukraine.
This was reported by Polish radio station RMF24, citing the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces and Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Spokesman for the Operational Command, Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, said it was a jet-powered drone that was rapidly approaching the Polish border.
"We are still reviewing the records from our systems, but initial data indicates that the drone most likely hit a target or was destroyed 4 km on the other side of the border, on the Ukrainian side", he said.
Polish military emphasized that no violation of the country's airspace was recorded.
Tusk reported a "very powerful explosion"
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the Russian attack took place near Yagodyn in Ukraine, opposite Dorohusk in Poland.
According to him, the target might again have been a gas station, but it has not yet been confirmed exactly which object was attacked.
"Very close to the Polish border, near Ukrainian Yagodyn near Dorohusk, they likely attacked a gas station again. There was a very powerful explosion. Our planes were scrambled", Tusk said.
Because of the Russian strike, the Operational Command deployed Polish military aircraft to protect the country's airspace.
Loud sounds heard in central Poland were explained by the military as being caused by fighter jets breaking the sound barrier. The command stated that the fighters were scrambled due to Russian strikes with cruise missiles on targets in western Ukraine.
Lublin and Rzeszów airports temporarily suspended operations
Residents of certain areas of Lublin and Subcarpathian voivodeships received messages from the government's RCB security center warning of an aerial attack and urging them to find a safe place and follow instructions from services.
Sirens sounded in Lublin and Rzeszów. To allow military aircraft to operate, the airports in these two cities temporarily suspended flights.
At 12:46 local time, Polish military reported the completion of the aviation operation after the threat of Russian strikes on western Ukraine ended, and two minutes later the RCB warning was lifted.
The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service separately reported that there were no direct hits on border infrastructure, including the checkpoint.
Yagodyn area was already attacked several days ago
This is not the first Russian strike in the immediate vicinity of the Polish border in recent days. On September 13, Russia attacked the Yagodyn area, and a gas station near the checkpoint was damaged, while a jet-powered drone struck a technical locomotive at a railway station.
Thus, Russian strikes on this area for the second time in less than a week forced Poland to respond to a threat directly at its border.
