Polish publications Polsat News and RMF24 report that a drone with “Cyrillic” inscriptions crashed on Polish territory near the Belarusian border on the evening of 7 September. The incident occurred close to Poland’s border crossing in Terespol, raising new alarms about Russian drone incursions linked to its war in Ukraine.

The drone was likely one of the 605 explosive and decoy drones Russia launched at Ukraine on 7 September—if it indeed crashed that night and wasn’t linked to an earlier incursion undetected by Polish authorities.

A drone with “Cyrillic” writing falls near Polish homes

The drone fell around 300 meters from the Polish border checkpoint in the village of Polatycze, in Lublin Voivodeship, according to the local prosecutor’s office. The nearest residential buildings were just 500 meters from the crash site, Polsat reported, citing the prosecutor’s office. Authorities confirmed that the object did not explode upon impact, but that fuel ignited after the crash. RMF24 says no one was injured.

Agnieszka Kępka, spokesperson for the Lublin District Prosecutor’s Office, stated that border guards discovered the drone wreckage at approximately 19:50 the next day. They have already been questioned as witnesses. A civilian later reported hearing the sound of the drone.

The drone had “Cyrillic” text on its components and numeric markings on others. It appeared to be made of lightweight styrofoam-like material. Investigators are now cataloging every fragment on-site before the debris is transferred for forensic analysis.

Military prosecutors take over case amid Gerbera drone suspicion

The military department of the Lublin District Prosecutor’s Office is leading the investigation in cooperation with the Military Police. Authorities secured 12 major components and hundreds of smaller parts, many made of styrofoam. While investigators say the drone was likely unarmed, its material and structure resemble Russian-made Gerbera drones, capable of carrying explosive devices. 

No details have been released about whether a Polish military radar tracked the drone. RMF24 reports that prosecutors do not yet know the time or direction of its entry into Polish airspace. The visible impact mark in the field allowed officials to pinpoint the crash site, which lies in a cornfield near Terespol. Military investigators are expected to assess the drone’s model and origin.

Biała Podlaska police confirmed receiving a report from the local border guard station just before 22:00, not mentioning 7 September as the crash date. Officers secured the crash site and alerted all relevant agencies, including the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Biała Podlaska. Authorities reiterated that no residents were harmed and that the wreckage poses no immediate threat.

On 7 September, a different unmanned aerial vehicle fell in the village of Majdan-Sielec, near Zamość. Investigators from the Zamość District Prosecutor’s Office said it likely crashed due to fuel exhaustion.

According to RMF24, the landowner where the first drone crashed noted the presence of what looked like a camera module. Authorities confirmed the device was being analyzed by forensic experts.

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Russian drone crosses NATO border and flies freely—Poland responds with radar alerts but no action again

Ukrainian airspace monitoring channels on Telegram reported on 7 September that a Russian drone had crossed Ukraine’s Volyn and was headed toward Zamość, a Polish city located 150 km south of the crash site.

Warsaw acknowledged that two drones entered Polish airspace overnight on 2–3 September but were not intercepted or shot down, Reuters reported on 4 September. Polish military officials say the aerial objects posed no threat and exited the country without causing damage, even as Russia launched a major drone and missile assault across Ukraine the same night.

This occurred during Moscow’s daily air attack on Ukraine, as Russia launched more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles on Ukraine overnight. According to the reports, 14 locations across the country were hit, including critical energy and transport infrastructure. Four Ukrainian railway workers were injured in the attacks.

Poland confirms airspace violations but takes no action

According to Reuters, General Maciej Klisz, Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces, confirmed at a news conference that “we had two airspace violations.” He claimed that “these two violations were under the full control of national forces and units assigned to the state defense system.”

General Wiesław Kukula, Chief of the General Staff, stated that the drones “left Polish airspace without causing any damage,” which means that Poland once again allowed the Russian drones to use its airspace than safely return to Ukraine to attack residential areas. 

The Polish army did not disclose the drones’ point of entry or flight path, and no effort was made to shoot them down.

The incursion occurred overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday — 2 and 3 September — triggering a National Security Council meeting in Warsaw.

Military stays silent as drones cross NATO border

The lack of any military response highlights Poland’s continued restraint, even after repeated airspace violations. Poland, a NATO member state and a vocal supporter of Ukraine in its defense against Russia, has yet to shoot down any drones entering its territory since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The army has remained on high alert since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a village in southern Poland in 2022, killing two people. Yet, despite increased vigilance, no interception measures were taken during this latest event.

In August, a drone crashed into a cornfield in eastern Poland. A prosecutor later said the drone likely entered Polish territory from the direction of Belarus, a close Russian ally. Ukrainian sources noted that the drone remained 2.5 hours in the Polish airspace and was never intercepted.

Airspace monitoring channels reported the incursion during the assault

Warnings about drones heading toward Poland were posted on 3 September by several Ukraine-linked Telegram channels tied to air defense monitoring.

At 3:36 a.m., Ukrainian Telegram channel Nikolaevsky Vanyok, affiliated with air defense forces, wrote:

“1 [Shahed drone is] south of Sambir, course to Poland.”

Almost simultaneously, at 3:35 a.m., the airspace monitoring Telegram channel Zakhid Holovne reported:

“ One more Shahed toward Kolomyia and one drone through Sambir to Poland.”

Four minutes later, at 3:39 a.m., the same channel posted in Polish:

“ 03:39 Air alert in the Republic of Poland.”