Poland scrambles aircraft after Russia launches strikes on Ukraine

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Tuesday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.

“The steps taken are aimed at ensuring security in the regions bordering the areas at risk,” the Command said on X.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts starting at around 0350 GMT after Ukraine’s Air Force warned of Russian missile attacks.

Earlier, a Russian air attack injured a 44-year-old woman and damaged several houses in the Kyiv region, Mykola Kalashnyk, governor of the region that surrounds the Ukrainian capital, said on Tuesday.

“She received wounds to her leg, she has been hospitalised,” Kalashnyk said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts starting at around 0350 GMT after the country’s air force warned of a Russian missile attack that also forced NATO-member neighbouring Poland to scramble aircraft to ensure air safety.

The full scale of the attack was not immediately clear. There was no comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks in the warwhich Russia launched three years ago on its smaller neighbour and has since killed thousands, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.