NATO scrambled fighter jets over Poland overnight, amid reports that at least one suspected Russian missile had crossed into its airspace and crashed in a field. Footage showed smoke rising from the Lublin region, where a crater was reported after air raid sirens had sounded.

There were initial claims a Russian missile had been shot down by a NATO fighter over Polish territory after crossing the border with Ukraine, which came under heavy attack. However, Polish operational command stated an “unidentified object” had crashed on its territory amid multiple missiles flying close to the border but inside Ukrainian airspace.

Some reports suggested the object was a Kh-101 missile launched from a Russian strategic bomber. Residents of Targowisko reported a loud explosion early this morning.

“At 3:29 AM, the closest approach was made by one of the objects,” said Poland’s operational command. “At 3:40 AM, an unidentified object was detected in Polish airspace moving westward. An F-16 fighter jet was dispatched to the area to identify and intercept it. At 3:46 AM, before a clear identification could be made, the object disappeared from radar detection.

“To verify and ultimately confirm the radar’s technical indications, an Mi-24 helicopter was dispatched to the area of the last detection. The helicopter crew located the probable crash site of the object in an undeveloped area near the town of Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin Voivodeship. A Ground Search and Rescue Team and appropriate services were dispatched to the scene.

“Operational and security operations are ongoing at the scene.”

Emergency services, police, and a military helicopter responded, and a crater was discovered in a field surrounded by forest.

The area was secured while the Polish military investigates.

The “crash site” is some four miles from Otrocz, which is around 56 miles from the Ukrainian border.

The shocking incident came after Warsaw’s operational command had scrambled warplanes amid an intense night of attacks from Russia, causing death and destruction in neighbouring Ukraine.

If a deliberate missile incursion is confirmed inside NATO territory, it will amount to a grave escalation of the war by Putin’s forces.

Such incursions have been predicted amid warnings that Russia is seeking to widen its war to include front-line Western states, raising fears of a new, larger-scale conflict.

Recent days have seen drone incursions into the airspace of the NATO state of Romania.

Polish operational command said: “The country’s air defence radars observed the activity of at least a dozen missiles operating over western Ukraine, which, due to their flight direction, could pose a potential threat to Polish airspace.

“One of the objects approached the Polish border at approximately 5 km at 3:29 AM before changing flight direction and heading east.”

This preceded the incursion into Polish airspace.

In a night of hell for Ukraine, there were massive attacks across the country, with at least eight killed and 30 injured.

In Kryvyi Rih – home city of Volodymyr Zelensky – an entire family with children perished as Ukraine was hit by ballistic missiles, Zircon hypersonic missiles, and drones.

Three children – a six-year-old girl and two boys aged 11 and 17 – were among the dead.

Oleksandr Vilkul, the city’s defence council head, said was a direct strike by a Russian Iskander-M ballistic, as he branded it a “dark night”.

In Lviv, the sky turned orange as Russia hit an apartment building, leaving people buried under the rubble. At least 15 were injured.

One person was killed and two more injured in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukraine destroyed yet another logistics centre belonging to Russia’s Amazon – Wildberries – in a devastating strike on Penza.

An explosion was followed by huge plumes of smoke rising from the complex, polluting the city.