Poland scrambles jets as Russian missiles target Ukraine
At night, Russia attacked Ukraine with ballistic missiles, leading to an air raid alert throughout the country. In response to these actions by Russia, the Polish military scrambled fighter jets. Before 8 AM local time, the planes returned to base.
"Due to the intensive activity of the long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, which struck targets including those in the west of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation operations have begun in our airspace," reads the statement from the Operational Command.
It was reported that the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces has activated all available resources, which remain at his disposal. "Alert pairs of fighter jets, ground air defense systems, and radar reconnaissance have been scrambled, and they reached a state of readiness," the statement conveyed.
Two hours later, it was communicated that "the operations of Polish and allied aviation in our airspace have been concluded due to the cessation of long-range aviation strikes by the Russian Federation on Ukraine."
Thanks were extended for the support from NATO and the British Royal Air Force, whose Eurofighter Typhoon jets stationed in Malbork helped ensure the safety of Polish skies tonight.
"Activated ground air defense systems and radar reconnaissance have returned to standard operational activity. We inform that no airspace violations of the Republic of Poland were observed," was reported.
Another attack on Ukraine
There were explosions in Kyiv, confirmed by the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko. He explained that the explosions in the capital are related to air defense actions. Before the explosions, the Air Force reported a ballistic missile heading toward Kyiv.
At 4:57 AM local time, an air raid alert was announced in almost all of Ukraine. Previously, around 2 AM local time, an alert was also announced due to the missile threat. At 5:39 AM local time, the alert spread to the southern regions of the country.
