NATO aircraft scrambled during major Russian drone, missile strike on Ukraine

Yahoo

2 days ago

Polish and allied NATO aircraft were scrambled in response to a large Russian drone and missile attack launched into Ukraine on Sunday night, the Polish military's Operational Command said in a statement.
"Polish and allied duty aircraft have been scrambled and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness," the command said in a statement posted to X in the early hours of Monday morning, as hundreds of drones and missiles targeted sites across Ukraine.
The alert lasted for around three hours, after which the command posted another statement saying that "deployed forces and resources have returned to standard operational activities."
NATO's Air Command and Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters stationed in Poland took part in the response, the Polish Operational Command said.
An official at Lithuania's Defense Ministry confirmed to ABC News that a drone also crossed into Lithuania from Belarusian airspace. Russian forces regularly route drones through Belarusian airspace to attack Ukrainian targets from the north. A search for the drone was still underway as of Monday morning, the official said.
Russia launched 324 drones and seven missiles into Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement published on Telegram.
Of those, 309 drones and two missiles were shot down or suppressed, it said, with 15 strike drones and two missiles impacting across three locations.
At least eight people were injured in Kyiv after a Russian drone hit a residential highrise, the head of the city's military administration said in a post to Telegram.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, wrote on Telegram that the most recent barrage was evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin's lack of commitment to a proposed ceasefire,
"This is how Putin responds to calls to end the war and sit at the negotiating table," he wrote. "Russian air attacks are still ongoing, with civilian infrastructure, homes and people, including in Kyiv, already affected."
MORE: Scale of Russia-Ukraine drone strikes builds ahead of possible ceasefire talks
"There is no alternative to sanctions, strengthening Ukraine's long-range capabilities and tough actions against Putin's circle and Putin himself," Yermak wrote. "He wants nothing but war and Ukraine's defeat. And there will be no defeat."
Referring to the scrambling of NATO aircraft and the drone crossing into Lithuania, Yermak added, "The Russians and their satellites are testing NATO's reaction. Drones entering the airspace of the Baltic countries are signals that cannot be ignored."
Zelenskyy also posted to Telegram noting that Kyiv is "constantly strengthening the Ukrainian air shield and it is very important to maintain full understanding among partners about how exactly they can help. Step by step, we are closing the funding gap for drone production and this week I will have new talks with partners regarding this task."
"Restoration and rescue work is currently underway everywhere it is needed," the president added of the overnight drone and missile impacts. "This particularly concerns electricity supply. Necessary assistance is being provided to the wounded."
Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down seven Ukrainian drones overnight.