Poland’s defence minister said a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland early on Wednesday was identified as a Russian drone, calling it a provocation by Russia.
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At a news conference in Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defence minister, accused Russia of provoking Nato during a crucial moment, as peace talks over the war in neighbouring Ukraine are under way, the country’s news agency PAP reported.
“Russia is provoking us once again,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, just as peace talks have given hope that the war “has a chance of ending”.
Police said they received reports of the crash at around 2am and found burned metal and plastic debris at the scene, near the village of Osiny. The blast broke windows in some nearby houses, but no one was injured, PAP reported.
Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command said on Wednesday on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighbouring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight.
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Officials initially said the explosion may have been caused by a part of an old engine with a propeller.
Lublin District Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz told reporters several investigators – both civilian and military – were examining the crash site.