Russian drone strikes near Ukraine-Poland border, Polish airports suspend operations
On 28 September a Russian drone struck near the Yahodyn border crossing point in Volyn Oblast, a few hundred metres from the Polish border, prompting Poland to deploy military aviation and suspend operations at Rzeszów and Lublin airports. Polish officials said Polish airspace was not violated, and no injuries or deaths were reported on the Ukrainian side.
Key points
- A Russian drone struck near the Yahodyn crossing point in Volyn Oblast on 28 September, within several hundred metres of the Polish border.
- Poland's air navigation agency PANSA suspended operations at Rzeszów and Lublin airports to ensure freedom of action for military aviation.
- Poland's Operational Command of the Armed Forces deployed military aviation and placed ground-based air-defence and radar reconnaissance systems on heightened readiness.
- Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated the strike hit Ukrainian territory approximately 2 km from the Dorohusk crossing and that Polish airspace was not violated.
- The Polish Government Centre for Security issued an air-attack warning to residents of Lublin Voivodeship.
- Volyn OVA acting head Roman Romaniuk said the shockwave damaged the checkpoint building at the entrance to the terminal; no injuries or deaths were reported.
- It follows earlier Russian drone strikes near Yahodyn on 13 and 17 September that damaged a gas station and, on 13 September, struck a passenger-train locomotive near the Polish border.
Why it matters
The strike occurred within a few hundred metres of Polish territory, making it one of the closest Russian drone hits to a NATO member state during the war. Poland's response — scrambling military aircraft, placing air-defence systems on heightened readiness and shutting down two civilian airports — shows how Russian attacks on western Ukraine directly affect a neighbouring NATO country. The incident is the latest in a September series of Russian drone strikes on the Yahodyn area.
What happened
On 28 September, Ukrainian monitoring channels reported Russian drones moving toward the Yahodyn border crossing on the Ukrainian-Polish border. Around 18:00, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced a reactive UAV in the Holovne area of Volyn Oblast moving westward toward the Polish border. A Russian drone subsequently struck near the village of Starovoitove (MPP Yahodyn) in Kovel Raion, Volyn Oblast, within several hundred metres of the Polish border.
Poland's Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) suspended operations at Rzeszów and Lublin airports to ensure freedom of action for military aviation. Poland's Operational Command of the Armed Forces deployed military aviation in Polish airspace in connection with the Russian strikes and placed ground-based air-defence and radar reconnaissance systems on heightened readiness. The Polish Government Centre for Security issued an air-attack warning to residents of Lublin Voivodeship.
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the drone hit Ukrainian territory approximately 2 km from the Dorohusk crossing and that Polish airspace was not violated; after the alert was cancelled, Polish aircraft returned to bases. Spokesperson of the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command Jacek Goryszewski said on TVN24 that there was no information on what the drone's target was. On the Ukrainian side, Volyn OVA acting head Roman Romaniuk said the shockwave damaged the checkpoint building at the entrance to the terminal, and no injuries or deaths were reported.
Where reporting differs
Whether the Yahodyn checkpoint itself was hit is disputed. Sources in Ukraine's State Border Guard Service and Polish Defence Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz say the checkpoint was not struck, with Kosiniak-Kamysz placing the hit about 2 km from the Dorohusk crossing. Volyn OVA acting head Roman Romaniuk states that the shockwave damaged the checkpoint building at the entrance to the terminal. Sources also differ on the drone type: most describe a Russian reactive / Shahed-type UAV, while local public channels speculated it may have been a Geran-5 type reactive drone.
Background
The 28 September strike near Yahodyn followed a series of Russian drone incidents in the same area earlier in September. On 13 September a Russian drone damaged a gas station near Yahodyn and struck a passenger-train locomotive about 2 km from the Polish border in Volyn Oblast. On 17 September another Russian drone fell near a gas station about 4 km from the Polish border near Yahodyn. On 24 September, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported that two border crossing points had to be evacuated during a Russian attack near the Ukrainian-Polish border. Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk announced plans to change procedures to allow shooting down objects violating Polish airspace based on radar data rather than solely visual identification. From 25 September the Polish government began distributing public instructions on how to respond to air attacks.