Poland Officially Confirms Russian Kh-101 Missile Crashed on Its Territory

Poland has confirmed that the object that entered its airspace during Russia’s latest mass missile attack on Ukraine was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.According to RMF FM, Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said Polish authorities could now “fully confirm” the missile’s identity after consultations with Operational Commander Gen. Maciej Nowak.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“We can confirm with full responsibility that it was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that exploded upon impact with the ground,” Tomczyk said, adding that it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.The confirmation follows Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s earlier statement that all available evidence indicated the missile was a Russian Kh-101 that briefly violated Polish airspace during Moscow’s latest large-scale attack on Ukraine.Around 20 Russian missiles headed toward PolandTomczyk said that during the overnight attack, Russia launched about 70 missiles in total against Ukraine.“At 3 a.m., around 20 missiles were flying in Poland’s direction,” he said, adding that they were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses before reaching Polish territory.He also revealed that a Ukrainian fighter pilot tracking the missile turned back about 20 seconds before the Polish border because Ukrainian aircraft are not permitted to enter Polish airspace and risked being mistaken for hostile targets by Polish F-16s.Tomczyk praised the Polish Armed Forces, saying they had monitored the entire incident from the moment the missiles were launched over Ukraine. Other Topics of Interest Poland: Escalating Xenophobia Towards Ukrainians A Ukrainian couple were beaten up by three men in the Polish city of Wrocław on Sunday. Poland warns similar incidents may happen againAsked whether the missile had intentionally entered Poland, Tomczyk said all possibilities remained open and that intelligence assessments would be needed to determine Moscow’s intent.He recalled that drones shot down by the Polish military in September 2025 had formed part of a deliberate provocation and a test of NATO, but said it was too early to draw the same conclusion in this case.“We should have no illusions. Situations like this, or provocations of this kind, will happen again. We must build societal resilience,” he said.Missile entered Poland during overnight attackThe missile entered Polish airspace during Russia’s overnight missile assault on Ukraine, which included strikes on Lviv and other regions.Poland scrambled F-16 fighter jets and activated its air defense systems to protect its airspace.The Polish military said an unidentified object was detected at 3:40 a.m. local time. An F-16 was dispatched to intercept it, but radar contact was lost six minutes later. The likely crash site was identified near Tarnawa-Kolonia in eastern Poland.The Lublin Regional Prosecutor’s Office said earlier that investigators believed the object was a Kh-101 cruise missile carrying a “significant quantity” of explosive material. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.