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.
Ukraine may have warned about the drone hours earlier
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. It remains unclear whether the drone found in Polatycze is the same one detected over Volyn.
Russian drone crosses NATO border and flies freely—Poland responds with radar alerts but no action again
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.
Second drone crash in Lublin area in as many days
The incident comes just one day after another drone crash in the same oblast. 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.