Poland Mobilizes Forces After Mystery Object Flies Over Its Ukraine Border

The Polish armed forces announced that an "unidentified aerial object" crossed into the country's airspace from the direction of Ukraine early on Friday, amid what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called a "massive" round of Russian missile and drone attacks.

The Polish army's Operational Command wrote on X, formerly Twitter, of the unknown object: "From the moment it crossed the border until the signal disappeared, it was observed by the radars of the country's air defense system. "In accordance with applicable procedures, the operational commander of the armed forces mobilized the available forces and resources at his disposal."

Polish television channel TV Republika reported that a search for the object was underway in the country's southern Lublin region, near the town of Hrubieszow, less than 4 miles from the Ukrainian border.

A Polish Defense Ministry spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that a "search for the object is currently underway." The spokesperson added that the Polish Operational Command is "in constant contact with the Ukrainian side."

Krzysztof Komorski, governor of the Lublin region, wrote on X: "We received information that an object appeared on the radar near Hrubieszow. We have no confirmation that it fell within our region."

Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian air force by email for comment.

Russia fired 158 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight in what Kyiv said was one of the largest air attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. The bombardment targeted critical infrastructure, industry and military facilities, the Ukrainian military said, and hit several civilian buildings including a shopping mall and a maternity hospital in the central city of Dnipro.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram that as of early Friday morning, 12 people had been confirmed killed and 76 people injured in the attack. The Ukrainian air force reported that it shot down 114 of the 158 drones and missiles fired.

NATO officials have repeatedly warned of the danger posed by errant Russian and Ukrainian munitions amid the ongoing war between the two countries. In November 2022, a stray Ukrainian air defense missile detonated in the southern Polish village of Przewodow, killing two people and raising fears that Poland and its allies might be dragged into the conflict.

And in April, Polish news agencies reported that a Russian KH-55 missile—a nuclear-capable cruise missile widely used in Moscow's bombardments of Ukraine—was found in a forest close to the northern Polish city of Bydgoszcz.

Romanian authorities have also warned Russia against violating its airspace after drone debris was found in its territory, amid Moscow's ongoing bombing campaign against infrastructure targets in the Ukrainian side of the Danube River, which separates the two countries.