‘Very Massive Explosion’: Russian Drone Falls 4 km From Poland

A jet-powered drone fell or was destroyed on Ukrainian territory about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Poland during a Russian attack on western Ukraine on Thursday, Sept. 17, Polish officials said. According to Polish outlet RMF24, Poland scrambled military aircraft and placed its air defenses on alert as the drone approached the NATO member’s border.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the explosion occurred near the Dorohusk crossing, close to a gas station on the Ukrainian side of the border. “There was a very massive explosion. Our aircraft were scrambled,” Tusk said. The blast was reported near Yahodyn, a Ukrainian settlement and major road and railway crossing opposite Dorohusk. Polish authorities did not report that the drone had crossed into the country’s airspace. No information about casualties or the extent of the damage in Ukraine was immediately available. Poland prepares to intercept drone Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk told parliament that the military was prepared to shoot down the drone if it approached Poland and posed a risk of crossing the border. Polish military aircraft were deployed during the Russian attack, while warning sirens sounded in several eastern cities, including Lublin and Rzeszów. Residents in central Poland also reported hearing a loud blast. The military said the sound came from Polish fighter jets breaking the sound barrier rather than an explosion on Polish territory. Other Topics of Interest ‘More Infantry, More Killed’: Russia’s Next Mobilization Could Backfire, Kyiv General Says Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletsky said another Russian mobilization could increase pressure on Ukraine but would also produce heavier battlefield losses and greater social tensions inside Russia. Poland ended the military aviation operation and canceled its emergency alert after Russian strikes on western Ukraine had stopped. Russia escalates attacks near NATO territory The incident came during another widespread Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine. Earlier on Thursday, civilian and energy infrastructure was damaged across eight regions, with at least 27 people injured in Kyiv and Odesa. Russia has also recently intensified strikes against Ukrainian transport and logistics infrastructure close to the Polish border, including near a train carrying foreign diplomats and speakers after their attendance at Kyiv’s Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference. The latest incident adds to mounting tensions between Moscow and Warsaw. On Tuesday, Sept. 15, senior Kremlin official Nikolai Patrushev threatened that Warsaw could “cease to exist” if Poland entered a military conflict with Russia. Poland, a NATO and European Union member, has been one of Ukraine’s principal military and political supporters since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. 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.