An unidentified flying object reportedly crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland early on Wednesday, according to the country’s news agency PAP.
Local police received reports around 2 a.m., finding burned metal and plastic debris near Osiny village. The explosion shattered windows in some homes, though no injuries were reported.
Despite the incident, Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command stated on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighbouring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight.
Officials initially said the explosion may have been caused by a part of an old engine with a propeller.
Osiny village map:
Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz later said the object was most likely a drone, adding that an analysis was underway to determine whether it was a military or smuggling one, PAP reported.
Lublin District Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz told reporters several investigators — both civilian and military — were examining the crash site.
“We have a lot of manpower, we have the army to help us. I hope that we will be able to finish the operation by the evening,” Trusiewicz said.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, there have been a number of intrusions into Polish airspace, raising alarm in the European Union and NATO member state and reminding people how close the war is.
