On Sunday, Russia launched the largest missile attack on Ukraine that it has carried out in several months, with one missile entering NATO member Poland’s airspace. The missile that entered Polish airspace did not strike anything in Poland, instead transiting through Polish airspace on the way to its target.
This comes after Russian President Putin claims that the Crocus City Hall concert venue attackers were apprehended trying to flee to Ukraine.
Russian forces launched 57 missiles against Ukraine, at least one of which flew through Polish airspace before reaching its target. Poland says it activated its own aircraft and other countermeasures following the incursion.
Top Polish officials said Sunday they will “demand explanations from Russia in connection with another violation of the country’s airspace.”
“Above all, we call on the Russian Federation to stop terrorist air attacks on the inhabitants and territory of Ukraine,” the Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a Sunday statement.
As of this writing, there has been no response from Russia regarding the route this missile took to get to its target or why it was programmed to transit through Polish airspace. While it is unclear as to what type of missile was launched, one report stated that it was a cruise missile, which would have been following a programmed route – therefore it was launched with the intent to transit Polish airspace en route to its programmed destination.
This is not the first such event. Last December, a Russian missile entered Polish airspace for several minutes on its way to a Ukrainian target. In November of 2022, two Polish citizens were killed when a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile (SAM) fell into a Polish town near the Ukrainian border.
As Poland is a NATO member, the risks of such a transit are considerable; even if the missile had malfunctioned and fallen on Polish territory unintentionally, it would nevertheless present the possibility of a confrontation between a NATO nation and Russia.
Previously on RedState: Putin Is Left With Egg on His Face After ISIS Provides Evidence It Carried Out the Moscow Attack
‘They’ll Do It Here in the Homeland’: Rubio on Moscow Attack and ISIS-K
While ISIS has claimed credit for the Crocus City Hall attack, Russia still maintains that Ukraine was involved. Ukraine has denied any involvement, which it’s important to note does not preclude the possibility that the attackers transited Ukraine on their way to Russia.
The weekend missile strikes on Ukraine come after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the culprits in a deadly Moscow terrorist attack attempted to flee to Ukraine after the shootings on Friday.
The death toll in Friday’s terror attack on a concert in Moscow has soared to at least 133, Russia’s top state investigative agency said Saturday, with authorities saying they have apprehended 11 suspects, four of whom were reported to be directly involved in the onslaught.
While Ukraine has denied any involvement, Putin says the four alleged attackers were trying to cross the border via a “window” prepared for them by Ukraine.
Russia has identified the attackers they have captured as having come from Tajikistan, a former Soviet “republic” that lies between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China. While information on this is still sketchy and we have only what Russia has stated so far to go on, a quick look at a map would appear to indicate that there are many routes from Tajikistan to Moscow that would be safer and easier to take than entering a war-torn country far to the west and then literally crossing the front line on the way to the target.
RedState will monitor this developing story and bring you updates as events warrant.
