Polish and allied military aircraft were scrambled after Russia launched a massive aerial assault on Ukraine including strikes that targeted near its western border with Poland.
According to CNN, the move came hours after NATO intercepted three Russian jets over Estonia’s airspace and with Europe on heightened alert following a series of Russian airspace violations in eastern countries.
“Due to the activity of the Russian Federation’s long-range aviation, which is carrying out strikes on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation has begun operating in our airspace,” the Polish military posted on X.
“Duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and ground-based air defense systems as well as radiolocation reconnaissance have reached a state of maximum readiness,” it said.
Russia launched 579 attack drones and various types of dummy drones at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Kyiv’s Air Force said. Moscow also launched eight ballistic missiles and 32 cruise missiles in the attack, it said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “All night, Ukraine was under a massive attack by Russia. Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorize civilians and destroy our infrastructure. That is why a strong international response is needed.”
Overall, eight people were killed, and at least 32 injured, in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours, according to regional authorities.
