Poland and other NATO members sent up fighter jets early on Thursday morning after Russia launched a barrage of overnight attacks on Ukraine
Poland and other NATO members went on alert and scrambled warplanes early today after Vladimir Putin unleashed over 650 drones and 50 missiles on Ukraine overnight.
Poland’s military said fighter jets and an early warning aircraft were deployed amid the “the highest state” of alert for Warsaw’s air defences and radar systems. Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure killed three people, including a seven-year-old girl, and seriously injured 17 others, including six children, Kyiv authorities said.
The attacks also triggered nationwide power cuts, which Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said were intended to “plunge Ukraine into darkness” ahead of the cold winter months.
Western communities near Ukraine’s border with Poland also came under attack, prompting Polish warplanes to scramble in case missiles strayed across the country.
Poland’s operational command said: “Due to the Russian Federation’s attack on targets located in Ukrainian territory, Polish and allied air forces have begun operating in our airspace. Duty fighter pairs and an early warning aircraft have been scrambled, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest level of alert.”
Jets from Norway, Spain and Turkey also took part in the operations, while German forces supported with a Patriot missile system. Polish airports in Radom and Lublin were briefly closed “for the duration of the operations” as jets patrolled the skies. Polish authorities said operations had ended by around 10.30am.
The alarming escalation included Kinzhal air-launched missiles, ballistic explosive weapons, Kh-101 cruise missiles and killer “kamikaze” Shahed drones. Alerts rang across Ukraine as air defences were activated in almost all regions, causing injuries, fires, destroyed homes and infrastructure.
The region of Zaporizhzhia suffered hours of sustained strikes from at least 20 drones and eight missiles, with an entire apartment block destroyed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the air strikes: “Many were shot down, but unfortunately, there have been hits.”
The community of Dnipro was attacked by ballistic missiles overnight, with 22 drones shot down over the Dnipropetrovsk region. Even areas far west of the frontline were targeted – an unusual twist in the Russian attacks.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, explosions described by witnesses as “almost continuous” were heard for three hours from 6am as cruise missiles targeted the region. Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv confirmed power outages following the strikes, saying: “There may be power outages! The country’s energy infrastructure is under attack.”
The Burshtyn Thermal Power Plant, located near the city, sits at a strategic junction connecting Ukraine’s power grid with Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. The plant has been repeatedly damaged during the war, but workers said it will once again be restored.
In the Mykolaiv region, shelling caused widespread power outages and disrupted rail services. Russian forces also attacked two energy infrastructure facilities in the Lviv region, close to Poland. In the Vinnytsia region, the city of Ladyzhyn was left without heat and water following the overnight strikes. Authorities are preparing to launch an alternative heating and water supply system.
Discussing Poland and NATO’s response to the barrage, Polish Minister of Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said: “We are living in very challenging and difficult times. At 8.49 this morning, our MiG-29s once again intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft. It did not enter Polish airspace. Our air defence and anti-aircraft systems were active throughout the night, and both national and allied aircraft were scrambled. The operation has concluded.”
Just a day earlier, a Polish MiG-29 fighter pair intercepted a Russian plane flying without a filed flight plan and with its transponder off. The reconnaissance aircraft was operating in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday.
NATO’s eastern flank has been on high alert for potential airspace incursions since September, when three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes.
Several days earlier, on the night of September 9 to 10, over 20 Russian drones had entered Polish airspace. In response, Warsaw invoked NATO’s Article 4, which calls for discussions among allies over threats to territorial security. This is a step short of Article 5, which requires collective military defence from allies if a member state is attacked. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski described the drone attacks as a test of the alliance’s resolve by Russia.
“NATO is at war with Russia,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media after tensions soared between NATO’s Eastern European allies and Russia. “This is obvious, and it does not require any additional evidence. NATO provides direct and indirect support to the Kyiv regime.” Peskov’s comments reiterated a familiar Kremlin narrative that Western backing of Ukraine amounts to active participation in the conflict.