BRUSSELS 

A missile reportedly fired from a Polish F-16 fighter jet struck a residential house in eastern Poland’s Lublin region, not a Russian drone as initially suspected, according to a report published Tuesday by local daily Rzeczpospolita.

The incident occurred in the village of Wyryki Wola, near the Belarusian border, where what prosecutors initially described as an “unidentified flying object” caused significant damage to a private home.

The newspaper, citing sources within Polish security services, said the projectile was an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile. The missile was reportedly launched during an attempt to intercept a Russian drone, but suffered a guidance system failure and went off course.

According to the report, the missile did not explode due to its safety fuse mechanism, which remained engaged. The house’s elderly residents survived the incident, despite the roof being torn off and debris crashing through the ceiling.

The Lublin prosecutor's office, which is investigating the case, has refrained from confirming the missile’s origin, stating only that the object has not yet been officially identified.

"At this point, I can't definitively say what fell on the house in Wyryki. It's under investigation, and we're waiting for expert opinions," prosecutor Agnieszka Kepka told reporters.

The incident followed last week's unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones launched from Belarus. Most of the drones, described by Polish experts as "decoys," caused no damage, though several were intercepted by Polish air defenses.

Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk earlier confirmed that three drones had been shot down but did not disclose the locations.