On the road leading to Wlodawa, the meeting point of the Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian borders at the far eastern edge of the Lublin voivodeship, or administrative region, a thick fog hung over the meadows and pumpkin fields. Wyryki is one of the largest and least densely populated rural towns in the region – 220 square kilometers for 2,300 residents. It is covered as far as the eye can see with fields and dense forests.

On the morning of Friday, September 12, two military trucks were stationed 20 kilometers from the border, accompanied by police in unmarked cars. Around 60 members of the Territorial Defense Forces – the Polish equivalent of the National Guard – lined up to search the cornfields on both sides of the road. Within a 20-kilometer radius, four drone impacts or drone debris were recorded following Russian incursions into Polish airspace two days earlier. Of the 15 or so incidents reported in the country, nine occurred in the Lublin region.

The most significant incident happened just a few kilometers away. A flying object crashed into the roof and bedroom of a retired couple's home. Tragedy was narrowly avoided: The couple had gone downstairs just 15 minutes earlier. For local residents, the trauma was profound. Urszula Zaprzaluk, herself retired, lives next door. Her house was also hit by debris. She was still in bed when the incident occurred, just before 7:00 am.

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