Poland Accuses Russia of Provocative Drone Incident Amid Peace Talks

On Wednesday, Poland’s defense minister attributed the crashing and subsequent explosion of a drone in eastern farmland to Russia.

«We are once again confronted with a provocation from the Russian Federation involving a Russian drone,» stated Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz to the press.

The incident took place in a cornfield near the village of Osiny, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Warsaw and similarly distanced from the borders of Ukraine and Belarus.

The minister emphasized that this incident occurred at «a critical time, as peace discussions are in progress and there is hope that this war… may come to an end. Once again, Russia resorts to provocation.»

A drone reportedly crashed and detonated in Poland approximately 120 kilometers from Ukraine. Polish authorities suggested it could be a Russian drone that breached Polish airspace. According to Rzeczpospolita, it was likely an Iranian-manufactured Shahed, the same model used by Russia to target Ukrainian cities.

Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski denounced «yet another violation of our airspace from the east.» He mentioned on social media platform X that the foreign ministry would lodge a protest against those responsible for this breach.

Polish news outlets shared a video capturing the nighttime explosion along with images of debris, including an engine and a propeller.

General Dariusz Malinowski confirmed that the drone was a decoy, designed without weapons but equipped with a self-destruct mechanism.

Earlier in 2023, Poland accused Russia of firing a missile at Ukraine from its airspace during an attack. Additionally, in November 2022, two civilians lost their lives when a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile landed in a village near the border.