Poland has said operations by Polish and allied aircraft related to Russian strikes on Ukraine had concluded and that no violations of Polish airspace were observed.
“Due to the reduction in the level of threat from missile strikes by Russian aviation on Ukrainian territory, the operations of Polish and allied aviation in Polish airspace have been concluded,” the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said on X.
Ukraine’s air force said that Russia used 574 drones and 40 missiles in overnight attacks on the country.
The air force said it downed 546 drones and 31 missiles. It recorded hits at 11 locations and debris falling at three locations, according to the post on the Telegram messaging app.
A combined Russian drone and missile attack on the western city of Lviv killed one person and injured two more, Lviv regional governor said.
Tens of residential houses were also damaged in the attack, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance has said European countries will have to take the “lion’s share” of the burden of Ukraine’s security guarantees.
It comes as President Donald Trump appears to want to shift more responsibility for the costs of ending the war to European allies.
“I don’t think we should carry the burden here. I think that we should be helpful if it’s necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing. But I think that we should expect, and the president certainly expects, Europe to play the leading role here,” Mr Vance told Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” show.
“No matter what form this takes, the Europeans are going to have to take the lion’s share of the burden.”
Yesterday, Polish officials said a Russian drone crashed in a field in the east of the country, an incident the defence minister described as a provocation.
The drone hit and scorched a cornfield in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province, just over 100km from the Ukrainian border and around 90km from Belarus.
The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, national news agency PAP reported.
Police said they found burnt metal and plastic debris at the site and that corn had been burnt in an area of 8-10m diameter around the spot where the object fell.
Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pawel Wronski said some experts have suggested a Russian version of the Shahed drone developed by Iran was involved in the latest incident.
General Dariusz Malinowski said the drone appeared to be a decoy which was designed to self-destruct.
He said it had a Chinese engine.
Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defence minister, said the incident bore similarities to cases in which Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania, and could be linked to efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
“Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are under way,” he told journalists.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation but did not name the perpetrator.
“Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission towards NATO is the defence of our own territory.”
