On July 31, Polish F-16 fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced earlier today. The aircraft was approximately 40 kilometers north of Kołobrzeg.
According to the defense minister, the Il-20 was flying in international airspace without a flight plan and with its transponder switched off. Two Polish F-16s were scrambled to intercept it. Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Poland’s armed forces continue to monitor Russia’s activities in close coordination with NATO allies.
The incident occurred a day after a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile violated Polish airspace during a massive strike on Ukraine. Initially, the Polish military spoke of an unidentified object that was moving westward on the morning of July 30 before disappearing from radar. Subsequently, missile debris was discovered near a crater approximately 10 meters in diameter near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia in Lublin Voivodeship. Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the missile was, in all likelihood, Russian.
On July 31, Polish prosecutors confirmed that the missile that fell on Polish territory the previous day was indeed a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. It was manufactured in the second quarter of 2026 at one of the facilities in the Moscow Region, said Lublin Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Marcin Kozak.
Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Mikhno in connection with the incident. Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewióra said that details of the conversation would be published later.
