Alarm Sirens and Scrambled F-16s: Prime Minister Reveals Object That Fell in Lublin Voivodeship

Polish airspace was violated on Thursday morning by what is believed to be a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, prompting the scrambling of an F-16 fighter jet and the activation of alarm sirens.

Air Incident Over Poland

A violation of Polish airspace occurred on Thursday morning during a massive Russian missile attack on facilities in the eastern part of Ukraine. As reported by the Operational Command of the Armed Forces, the unknown object was detected by Polish systems at 3:40 AM.

To fully identify and potentially intercept the intruder, a military F-16 fighter was immediately dispatched to the area. At 3:46 AM, the object vanished from radars, and its probable crash site was located in the area of the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin Voivodeship.

SPO-13 Procedure and Alarm Sirens

Due to the detection of the threat, the SPO-13 procedure was immediately implemented, and alarm sirens were activated as the fastest way to inform the civilian population of the risk of an air strike.

Minister of Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński stated on the X platform that the entire procedure and alerting process lasted about 13 minutes. The SPO-13 procedure is included in the National Crisis Management Plan and regulates the rules for warning troops and civilians in the event of air threats.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the Russian Kh-101 Missile

Detailed information regarding the incident was provided by Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a meeting of the coordination team in Lublin. The head of government revealed the initial findings regarding the previously unidentified object.

– So far, everything indicates that we are dealing with a ballistic missile, the Russian Kh-101, but we are also not getting ahead of the results of a detailed investigation – said Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The head of government also emphasized the decisive reaction of the Polish armed forces. – We were ready to shoot this missile down in the event that it continued its flight – he noted.

Services Working on Site with No Casualties Reported

Since the early morning hours, services subordinate to the Ministry of Interior and Administration have been working at the crash site. Ministry spokeswoman Karolina Gałecka and Minister Marcin Kierwiński took part in the team meeting, heading to the Lublin Voivodeship on the orders of the head of government.

Prime Minister Tusk reassured that the missile fell in an uninhabited area and did not lead to a tragedy. – Fortunately, there is no information about casualties or damage. There was no direct threat due to the fact that the missile fell in an uninhabited area – reported the head of government, adding that according to initial reports, the relevant services acted “very quickly” in this situation.