Mysterious Russian rocket found in Polish forest

Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak was heavily criticized over the incident Photo: Anadolu Agency

Polish Defense Minister is being criticized for for claims that a mysterious object found in a Polish forest was a Russian missile flying over the country.

The hype around the alleged incident intensified after it emerged that the army knew about a possible missile flying towards the country in December, but did not inform the government.

Donald Tusk, leader of Poland's Law and Justice party and former prime minister, said his party would make the resignation of Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak a priority.

«We will not leave this matter unattended and all of Poland must hear detailed explanations about the incident tomorrow,” Tusk said on Friday.

Cezary Tomczyk of the opposition-centrist Civic Coalition party told reporters that Blaszczak is shifting the blame for the incident to the army.

< p>“Today we will file a notice with the prosecutor’s office about a possible crime committed by Minister Blaszczak in connection with his failure to fulfill his duties,” Mr. Tomczyk said.

Russian missile speculation

In April, Polish authorities said the remains of a military facility discovered in northern Poland near the city of Bydgoszcz, more than 300 miles from the border with Ukraine.

The discovery prompted an official investigation, the results of which have not yet been released, but many speculate that it was a Russian cruise missile that went down out of the way.

On Wednesday, two Polish news outlets reported that it was a Russian Kh-55 missile. , a type commonly used in attacks on Ukraine.

On Thursday, Mr Blaszczak said the army was aware of a possible missile heading towards the country in December, but did not inform the government.

>»It was established that on December 16, the operational headquarters of the operational headquarters received information from the Ukrainian side about an object approaching the Polish space, which could be a missile,» Blaschak said.

KH-55 has a flight range of about 1800 miles and can fly at speeds of over 600 miles per hour at low altitudes, making it difficult to detect and track.

Poland, a NATO member, is on high alert due to the possible consequences of the war in neighboring Ukraine, especially after two people were killed last November by what Warsaw believed was a Ukrainian air defense missile that crash-landed near the border.