Radosław Sikorski said Russia was shifting tactics in its drone and missile campaign against Ukraine, moving away from indiscriminate city-wide bombardment to focus on carefully selected targets.
Speaking in the eastern Polish city of Lublin after a meeting with his Lithuanian and Ukrainian counterparts, Sikorski cited the attack on the Vinnytsia factory owned by Polish wood‑floor maker Barlinek as a clear example.
Barlinek, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of wooden flooring, is headquartered in Poland. Its Vinnytsia site, one of three production facilities operated by the group, was struck by five drones.
Sikorski said the attack was deliberate and coordinated, with drones approaching from three directions.
Six people were injured, two of them seriously with burn wounds. No Polish citizens were among the victims, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński, who confirmed that emergency response efforts were underway at the factory site in Vinnytsia, where fires were being extinguished and damage assessed.
“This is not just random destruction,” Sikorski said. “The Russians are now selecting specific targets and trying to destroy them. They are attacking civilian facilities, businesses and infrastructure, which is a war crime.”
He added that Polish companies are increasingly exposed to the same risks faced by Ukrainian enterprises.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the aim of these strikes was to sow panic and erode Ukraine’s resilience by hitting industrial facilities and the energy sector.
“The aggressor is trying to break our economy and weaken the resolve of our citizens,” he said.
The attack on the Barlinek plant came amid what Ukrainian air force officials described as a massive overnight assault involving 400 drones and a single ballistic missile launched from occupied Crimea.
In total, 57 drones and one missile struck targets in 12 Ukrainian locations. Among the hardest-hit cities were Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, and Vinnytsia.
The ministers were gathered in Lublin to mark the anniversary of the creation of the Lublin Triangle, a regional cooperation platform formed in 2020 by Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine to deepen political, economic and security ties in the region.
Sikorski wrote on the social media platform X that the plant was hit “deliberately, from three directions,” adding that “Putin’s criminal war is moving closer to our borders.”
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the strike ignited a blaze covering roughly 600 square meters. Eight fire engines and 37 rescuers extinguished the fire.
The factory on fire. Photo: PAP/DSNS Ukraina
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Polskie Radio 24