Poland missile incident: Analysts suggest Russian Kh-101 strike was deliberate

Polish military analyst Michał Fiszer suggests that a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that entered Polish territory in late July may have been deliberately programmed to follow its specific route. This assessment is based on observations of the missile's flight path during a massive Russian attack on Ukraine on July 30.

General Maciej Jabłoński noted that the missile performed a characteristic ‘hill’ maneuver—rising before diving—and then struck the ground almost vertically. According to Fiszer, this maneuver indicates the missile was following pre-programmed coordinates rather than drifting due to technical failure or loss of control. Preliminary findings suggest the strike was intentional, with a probability approaching certainty, as such maneuvers are only possible when approaching a target using set coordinates.

The incident left a crater in a field near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin Voivodeship. Analysts believe that if the missile had been damaged or malfunctioning, it likely would have continued on an uncontrolled trajectory until fuel exhaustion or interception.