(LONDON) — NATO fighter jets were scrambled and air defense units put on alert in the early hours of Sunday in response to a major Russian drone and missile strike on Ukraine, the Polish Operational Command said in posts to X.
“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 command said in a statement.
“On-duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and ground-based air defense systems as well as radar reconnaissance have reached a state of highest readiness,” the post added.
“These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened regions,” it said.
Dutch F-35 stealth fighters and a German Patriot surface-to-air missile system were among the forces put on alert, the command added. Airspace over Lublin and Rzeszow near the Ukrainian border was also briefly closed.
The alert ended after around three-and-a-half hours with no reported violations of Polish airspace, the command said.
There have been no reported violations of Polish airspace by long-range Russian drones since dozens crossed into the country during strikes on Ukraine on Sept. 10, prompting Polish and allied jets to shoot down several.
Kyiv was the focus of the overnight Russian strikes. Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy and Odesa were also attacked, President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram. The barrage lasted for more than 12 hours, the president said.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 593 drones and 50 missiles of various types, making the overnight barrage the largest combined strike on Ukraine since Sept. 7.
Defenders downed or suppressed 566 drones and 45 missiles, the air force said. Five missiles and 31 drones impacted across 16 locations, the force said.
At least four people — among them a 12-year-old girl — were killed in the capital, according to a post by head of the Kyiv City Military Administration Timur Tkachenko to Telegram.
At least 14 people were also injured in Kyiv, local officials said.
“As of now, there are over 15 locations with damage,” Tkachenko said. “Among them are drone strikes on multi-story residential buildings.” Tkachenko reported damage in at least five city districts.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a five-floor apartment building in the Solomyanskyi district was partially destroyed and caught fire. Strikes also hit a state medical facility, warehouses, private homes, cars and a children’s educational center, officials said.
At least 31 people — among them three children — were injured by Russian strikes on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to local Gov. Ivan Fedorov. A high-rise apartment building and several other structures were hit and set ablaze in the city, Fedorov said.
The city — home to more than 710,000 people before Russia’s full-scale invasion — is now only around 16 miles from the front line and subject to continuous Russian attacks.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a post to Telegram that at least 70 people were injured by strikes across the country.
Zelenskyy noted that the “cowardly” attack took place at the end of a week of high-level meetings and speeches at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“This is exactly how Russia declares its real position,” Zelenskyy said. “Moscow wants to continue fighting and killing and deserves only the harshest pressure from the world.”
Zelenskyy again called for more international measures to choke Russia’s energy export industry. “We count on a strong response from the U.S., Europe, the G7 and the G20,” he wrote.
Andriy Kovalenko — the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council — said in a post to Telegram that it was a “difficult night for many cities.”
“The Russians are also under attack,” Kovalenko wrote. “And the level of these attacks will only increase.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down at least 41 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Rosaviatsiya, Russia’s federal air transport agency, reported temporary flight restrictions at multiple airports, including at the Zhukovsky International Airport in Moscow.
Restrictions were also imposed at airports in Volgograd, Kaluga, Penza, Samara, Pskov and Yaroslavl.
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