Russia launched another large aerial attack on Ukraine overnight July 29-30. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported more than 70 missiles and some 280 drones, striking Kiev, Lvov and the Dnipropetrovsk region. The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes hit military airfields, defense industry enterprises, and military telecommunications and logistics centers.
During the night, a missile strayed into Polish territory, alerting Polish radar and causing several aircraft to be scrambled for takeoff. The missile exploded shortly in an uninhabited field in Lublin province, reportedly leaving a crater thirty feet wide, though no one was injured.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency coordination group and traveled to the site. “All indications suggest that it was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile,” he said, adding that Poland had been prepared to shoot it down had it continued its flight. He called the incident serious but stated there were “absolutely no reasons to believe that Poland was the target,” reported The Guardian
However, this became the trigger for hysteria throughout the day in Europe and NATO-land. CNN reported that NATO forces had come within seconds of firing at the object before assessing that the missile would fall on its own. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the incident “yet another reckless act by Russia,” and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it “another unacceptable violation of our EU airspace.” EU Council President Antonio Costa even said that the event proves “Russia’s aggression is a threat to the security of Europe as a whole.”
