"There was a very powerful explosion": Polish PM says drone crashed near border
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that a Russian strike drone crashed near the Polish border in Ukraine's Volyn Oblast on the afternoon of 17 September.
Source: Tusk during a government meeting on 17 September, as reported by Polish news portal RMF 24 and European Pravda
Details: Tusk reported that the drone crashed near the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing. He said Russia had probably been targeting a petrol station.
Quote: "I have received another report: the Russian attack on Ukraine's west has ended. Very close to the Polish border, near Dorohusk, once again, a petrol station was apparently being targeted. There was a very powerful explosion. Our aircraft were scrambled. This 17 September is an exceptional day, including in terms of today's security."
Details: Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces, said the drone had most likely crashed or been shot down 4 km from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
As it was a jet-powered drone that was rapidly approaching the Polish border, fighter jets were scrambled.
"We are still verifying the data from our systems, but we have initial indications that [the drone] most likely hit its target or was shot down 4 km away from the border, on the Ukrainian side," Goryszewski said.
Ukrainska Pravda sources in Ukrainian law enforcement agencies reported explosions several kilometres from the border with Poland in Volyn Oblast.
Background:
- On 15 September, a drone, likely a Russian Gerbera UAV, was discovered off the coast of Poland in the Baltic Sea.
- On the morning of 16 September, an air-raid warning was issued in Polish border areas due to jet-powered UAVs over Ukraine's west, and Rzeszów and Lublin airports suspended operations.
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced plans to improve the flow of traffic at the border with Ukraine to prevent a build-up of vehicles, which could become a target for Russian attacks.
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