NATO scrambles fighter jets over Europe as drone sparks explosion in Poland

NATO member Poland deployed warplanes on Wednesday in response to Russian strikes on neighboring Ukraine.

NATO member Poland deployed warplanes and put its air defense systems on high alert amid a wave of Russian drone strikes on neighboring Ukraine.

This came after Russian President Vladimir Putin intensified his attacks following a three-day ceasefire, launching a prolonged night attack involving Shahed drones, decoys and other drones. The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defenses had shot down or electronically suppressed 111 of 139 drones as of 8 a.m. local time.

Footage circulating online appears to show a Russian drone crashing into a building in Lutsk, in the northwestern Volyn region, before exploding. Some reports claim the target was an outpost belonging to Ukraine’s SBU security services, although there was no immediate confirmation.

In a statement, the operational command of the Polish Armed Forces said: “Due to the massive attack of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, carried out using a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles, military aviation began to operate in our airspace. »

He added: “Fighters and service helicopters are operational, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached a heightened state of alert.

“These operations have a preventive nature and aim to secure and protect the airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to threatened areas.

“The operational command of the Polish Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and subordinate forces and assets remain ready to respond immediately.”

Russian overnight strikes in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region killed eight people and injured 11 others, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.

Hanzha said Russian forces carried out nearly 30 attacks in three districts of the region overnight.

In the northwestern Rivne region, two people were killed and four others injured in a strike on a residential building, according to former regional governor Vitalii Koval.

A nine-month-old girl was seriously injured in the leg during a strike on Tuesday and is fighting for her life in the hospital in Kryvi Rih, a town in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The escalation of attacks comes despite Putin’s recent claims that the war is “coming to an end.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday reiterated Moscow’s long-standing demand that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky order the surrender of more than 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region still held by Ukraine, as a basis for negotiations.

Peskov said that after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops, “there will be a ceasefire and the parties will be able to calmly enter into negotiations.” Ukraine has repeatedly rejected this proposal.