 "Poland, Romania scramble jets as Russian strikes hit western Ukraine near Nato borders")
Poland and Romania scrambled fighter jets overnight after Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on western Ukraine, close to the borders of both Nato members, according to a Politico report, citing officials.
Moscow’s barrage targeted the cities of Lviv and Ternopil, far from the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes damaged residential apartment blocks, killing nine people and injuring dozens more. Rescue crews were still searching for survivors, with some residents believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.
In a post on X, Warsaw’s operational command said it had deployed “quick-reaction fighter pairs and an early warning aircraft” as a precaution, adding “ground-based air defence and radar surveillance systems” were at “the highest state of readiness.”
Polish authorities also temporarily closed two airports — Rzeszów and Lublin — in the country’s southeast as Russia’s aerial assault unfolded.
Meanwhile, in Romania, the Defence Ministry said it scrambled four fighter jets shortly after midnight — two German Eurofighter Typhoons and two Romanian Air Force F-16s — after detecting a drone that briefly penetrated about five miles into Romanian airspace, reported Politico.
Ministry spokesperson Corneliu Pavel told the local outlet Digi24 that pilots had authorisation to shoot down the drone but refrained when its signal disappeared.
Both countries’ responses were carried out in coordination with Nato partners.
Poland’s operational command thanked the alliance and member states Norway, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany for assisting with airspace monitoring.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has begun to affect neighboring countries, with a Romanian village evacuated Monday after a Russian strike ignited a gas tanker across the river in a Ukrainian port.
Quick Reads
View AllIn Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that saboteurs blew up a section of the train line between Warsaw and Lublin over the weekend, a key route connecting to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said Russia’s overnight attacks also targeted Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv and Dnipro. He called for increased air support for Ukraine and tougher sanctions on Moscow.
“Every brazen attack against ordinary life proves that the pressure on Russia is still insufficient,” Zelenskyy warned.
With inputs from agencies
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