WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's defense minister said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland early Wednesday was identified as a Russian drone, calling it a provocation by Russia.
At a news conference in Warsaw, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz accused Russia of provoking NATO during a crucial moment, as peace talks over the war in neighboring Ukraine are underway, the country's news agency PAP reported.
“Russia is provoking us once again,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, just as peace talks have given hope that the war “has a chance of ending.”
Police said they received reports of the crash around 2 a.m. and found burned metal and plastic debris at the scene, near the village of Osiny. The blast broke windows in some nearby houses, but nobody was injured, PAP reported.
Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command said Wednesday on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighboring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight.
Officials initially said the explosion may have been caused by a part of an old engine with a propeller.
Lublin District Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz told reporters several investigators — both civilian and military — were examining the crash site.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, there have been a number of intrusions into Polish airspace, raising alarm in the European Union and NATO member state and reminding people how close the war is.
Police secure the area of a cornfield where an unidentified flying object has crashed and exploded in the country's east in Osiny, Poland, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo)
Police secure the area of a cornfield where an unidentified flying object has crashed and exploded in the country's east in Osiny, Poland, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo)
Police secure the area of a cornfield where an unidentified flying object has crashed and exploded in the country's east in Osiny, Poland, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, kicked off his campaign for governor Friday, saying voters deserve a choice and a leader who will put aside divisions to address the state's pressing needs.
“With your help we can finish what we began. We can build the Alabama we’ve always deserved,” Jones told a packed crowd at a Birmingham campaign rally featuring musician Jason Isbell.
He said the state has urgent economic, health care and educational issues that are not being addressed by those in public office.
The campaign kickoff came on the eighth anniversary of Jones' stunning 2017 win over Republican Roy Moore, and Jones said Alabama proved back then that it can defy “simplified labels of red and blue.”
“You stood up and you said something simple but powerful. We can do better,” Jones said. “You said with your votes that our values, Alabama values, are more important than any political party, any personality, any prepackaged ideology.”
His entry into the race sets up a possible rematch with Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who defeated Jones by 20 points in 2020 and is also now running for governor. Both will have party primaries in May before the November election.
Before running for office, Jones, a lawyer and former U.S. attorney, was best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Jones said families are having a hard time with things like health care, energy bills and simply making ends meet.
“People are struggling,” he said. “They are hurting.”
Jones used part of his speech to describe his agenda if elected governor. He said it is time for Alabama to join most states in establishing a state lottery and expanding Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid, he said, will protect rural hospitals from closure and provide health care coverage to working families and others who need it.
He criticized Tuberville's opposition to extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. Jones said many Alabama families depend on those subsides to buy health insurance "to keep their families healthy."
Alabama has not elected a Democratic governor since Don Siegelman in 1998. In 2020, Tuberville held Jones to about 40% of the vote, which has been the ceiling for Alabama Democrats in recent statewide races.
Retired political science professor Jess Brown said Jones lost in 2020 despite being a well-funded incumbent, and that's a sign that he faces an uphill battle in 2026.
“Based on what I know today, at this juncture of the campaign, I would say that Doug Jones, who’s a very talented and bright man, is politically the walking dead,” Brown said.
Jones acknowledged being the underdog and said his decision to run stemmed in part from a desire for Tuberville not to coast into office unchallenged.
Jones pointed to recent Democratic victories in Georgia, Mississippi and other locations as cause for optimism.
Tuberville, who previously headed up the football program at Auburn University, had “no record except as a football coach” when he first ran, Jones said. And “now there are five years of being a United States senator. There are five years of embarrassing the state.”
Jones continued to question Tuberville’s residency, saying he “doesn’t even live in Alabama, and if he does, then prove me wrong.” Tuberville has a beach house in Walton County, Florida, but has repeatedly said Auburn is his home.
Tuberville's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously noted that he defeated Jones handily in 2020. Tuberville spent part of Friday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Huntsville to mark the official relocation of U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama.
Jones' 2017 victory renewed the hopes, at least temporarily, of Democratic voters in the Deep South state. Those gathered to hear him Friday cheered his return to the political stage.
“I’m just glad that there’s somebody sensible getting in the race,” Angela Hornbuckle said. “He proved that he could do it as a senator.”
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate waits to speak during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Gubernatorial candidate former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
