On the Night of the Biggest Attack on Ukraine, at Least One Russian Drone Flew into Poland

During the largest Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine to date, one of the Russian drones flew into Poland and disappeared. Despite the activity of Polish aviation in the area, no shootdown was reported.

Militarnyi reports this based on the analysis of Ukrainian monitoring groups and reports from the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces.

Around 1:13 am, a Russian drone flew into Poland from Volyn and was heading for the city of Zamosc, Lublin Voivodeship.

At around 1:41 a.m., monitoring channels noted Polish aviation activity over the territory of Poland, in the area where the drone was located. After that, there were no further reports about its route. It probably went beyond the range of Ukrainian air defense or crashed in Poland.

At 2:06 a.m., the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces reported the activity of Polish and allied aviation. And bringing ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems to the “highest level of readiness.”

“The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation. And the subordinate forces and means remain fully prepared for an immediate response,” the officials stated.

Around 5 p.m., Polish and allied air forces completed operations in Polish airspace due to “the cessation of Russian air strikes on targets in Ukraine.”

There were no reports of the neutralization of the drone by Polish or allied forces, even though the drone had been in Polish airspace for at least half an hour and flew to a depth of several tens of kilometers.

This is not the first time that Russian drones have flown into Poland without hindrance. For example, in late August, a Russian Shahed attack drone stayed in Polish airspace for about two and a half hours before it crashed.

The probable route from the border to the crash site in the village of Osiny is about 200 kilometers in a straight line.

In early September, a decoy Gerbera drone crashed in a field near the village of Maidan Selcie in Lublin Voivodeship, 50 km from the border with Ukraine.

According to a spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of National Defense, “it had no military characteristics.” The wreckage has the appearance and tail number YY 31334, which are typical for Gerbera. According to a preliminary assessment by Polish authorities, the drone was “probably used to smuggle tobacco products”.