An unidentified object, presumed to be a missile, crossed into Polish airspace early on Thursday morning, triggering a search operation that ended with the discovery of a crater near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia, roughly 70 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Polish helicopter crews located the impact site after the object dropped off radar around 3:40 am CET. No casualties were reported on Polish soil.
The incursion came during a night of intense Russian bombardment across Ukraine, where at least eight people were killed and more than a dozen wounded. In the central city of Kryvyi Rih, a ballistic missile struck a residential house, killing four adults and two girls aged five and twelve. Eight others were injured in that attack, and local authorities warned the death toll could rise.
In the eastern Poltava region, a drone strike hit a warehouse, killing one person. Meanwhile, at least fifteen people were wounded in attacks on the western city of Lviv. The capital, Kyiv, also came under fire. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that Russia was targeting the city with ballistic weapons, and the city military administration confirmed one death and two injuries. “The threat of further attack remains present. Stay in shelters!” Klitschko said early Thursday, adding that fires had broken out in several districts. Five more people were reported wounded in an eastern district of Kyiv.
Zelenskyy warns of more attacks, pleads for air defence
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had anticipated another large-scale assault, posting on X: “Please, in all regions of Ukraine, pay attention to air raid alerts today and stay safe.” Photos released by Kyiv’s emergency service on Thursday showed firefighters blasting water into bombed buildings and sifting through rubble.
Zelenskyy also reiterated Ukraine’s urgent need for more air defence systems. “This Russian terror once again proves that protection against the Russian missile threat is the most important task when it comes to saving the lives of our people,” he wrote. He highlighted a “critical shortage” of anti-ballistic missiles from partner countries, warning that delayed deliveries were leaving Ukraine increasingly vulnerable and contributing directly to civilian deaths. “Untimely assistance and delays in the delivery of anti-ballistic missiles lead to this kind of destruction, these kinds of casualties that, unfortunately, we are seeing today.”
The incident in Poland, a Nato member, echoes previous episodes where stray missiles have crossed into allied territory, raising concerns about escalation. Poland has been a key hub for Western military aid to Ukraine and has repeatedly called for stronger air defence cooperation along the eastern flank. The discovery of the crater near Tarnawa-Kolonia will likely reinforce calls for more robust monitoring and rapid-response measures.
Meanwhile, the broader conflict continues to strain European security architecture. In a related development, the UK has pledged new drone factories and missile interceptors to bolster Ukraine’s defences. At the same time, concerns have emerged that AI chatbots are inadvertently amplifying Russian propaganda from EU-sanctioned outlets, highlighting the information dimension of the war.
As the conflict grinds on, the human toll remains stark. The deaths of two young girls in Kryvyi Rih underscore the indiscriminate nature of the attacks. For Kyiv and its European allies, the challenge is not only to supply enough munitions but to ensure that the continent’s airspace remains secure from incursions that risk drawing Nato directly into the war.
