Poland resumes search for missing fragment of Russian Kh-101 missile that fell in Lublin region on Thursday
Investigators returned to the crash site in Tarnawa-Kolonia on Saturday after laboratory analysis revealed one additional piece of the cruise missile remains unaccounted for, though officials say it poses no danger to residents.
Polish prosecutors resumed a search operation on Saturday in Tarnawa-Kolonia, a village in the Lublin region of eastern Poland, where a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile fell early Thursday morning during a mass attack on western Ukraine. The renewed effort follows laboratory analysis that showed one additional fragment of the missile is still missing.
What the search is looking for
The search was relaunched after a detailed laboratory analysis of evidence already collected on Thursday indicated the need to recover one more piece of the object, said Marcin Kozak, spokesperson for the Lublin Regional Prosecutor's Office. Thursday's inspection of the site, conducted with ground-penetrating radar and metal detectors, secured what Kozak described as "key evidence," but the follow-up lab work revealed the gap.
Detailed laboratory analysis of the secured elements showed the need to find one more fragment of the object. Due to the specific nature of the terrain and the likelihood that the sought element may be at a significant depth, a decision was made to expand the search area.
Specialist deep-scanning equipment was brought in for Saturday's operations, and the area was secured by the Military Gendarmerie. If the fragment is not located on Saturday, work with the specialist equipment is planned to resume on Sunday, August 2.
No threat to public safety
Kozak stressed that the missing fragment does not pose a threat to life or health, and its recovery is not critical from the standpoint of the investigation itself. The search is aimed at ensuring a comprehensive explanation of the incident's circumstances. The investigation, led by the Military Affairs Division of the Lublin Regional Prosecutor's Office, is examining violations of Polish airspace and the endangerment of air traffic safety.
- Unidentified object detected in Polish airspace during Russian attack on western Ukraine; F-16 scrambled for identification and interception.
- Object disappears from radar; crash site later located near Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin region.
- Prime Minister Tusk confirms the missile was armed with a large quantity of explosives and was 'with high probability Russian'; Defence Minister reports a second missile turned back before the border.
- Prosecutors resume search operations with deep-scanning equipment after lab analysis shows one fragment still missing; Military Gendarmerie secures the area.
- Search planned to resume with specialist equipment if the fragment is not found on Saturday.
Thursday's incident: missile enters Polish airspace
The incident unfolded in the early hours of Thursday, July 30, during a large-scale Russian missile barrage against western Ukraine. At 3:40 a.m., an unidentified object was detected in Polish airspace, and an F-16 fighter was scrambled for identification and possible interception. Six minutes later, at 3:46 a.m., the object disappeared from radar. Its crash site was later located near Tarnawa-Kolonia.
Prosecutors established that the missile that fell was a Kh-101, manufactured in the second quarter of 2026 at a facility in the Moscow region of Russia. The missile carried a significant quantity of explosives.
Government response
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Thursday that one missile had entered Polish airspace while a second came close but turned back before crossing the border. Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated later that day that the missile was armed with a large amount of explosive charges and was "with high probability Russian." Government representatives maintained that had the missile posed a threat to inhabited areas, it would have been shot down.
