Ukraine's NATO Ally Scrambles Fighter Jets after Russian Missile Warning

Ukraine's NATO ally, Poland, deployed fighter jets after a missile that Russia launched as part of a barrage on Ukraine on Wednesday morning headed towards the Polish border before changing course, officials said.

A command body of the Polish Armed Forces said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that authorities were observing Russia's "intensive long-range aviation activity…related to missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine."

"All necessary procedures to ensure the safety of Polish airspace have been launched," it said. "We warn that Polish and allied aircraft have been activated, which may result in increased noise levels, especially in the south-eastern part of the country."

Maksim Kozicki, the governor of Ukraine's Lviv region, said on his Telegram channel that a Russian missile flying towards the border with Poland had changed course and "crashed directly into a regional center."

Newsweek has contacted the foreign ministries of Russia and Poland for comment by email.

Russia launched a missile assault across multiple regions of Ukraine on Wednesday morning.

Ukrainian authorities reported explosions in the capital Kyiv, the Kharkiv region, the city of Drohobych in Lviv and in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

Some 20 Russian missiles were downed by Ukrainian air defense forces near Kyiv, according to Serhiy Popko, the head of the capital's military administration, local media reported.

Poland last scrambled its fighter jets on January 2 "to ensure the safety of Polish airspace" against Russian missiles targeting Ukraine in another large-scale attack.

"We would like to inform you that intensive long-range aviation activity of the Russian Federation is being observed, which is related to carrying out strikes on the territory of Ukraine," Poland's Operational Command wrote on X last month after Russia launched attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Days before that incident, on December 29, Poland's armed forces chief, Gen. Wiesław Kukuła said "everything indicates" that a Russian missile "intruded in Poland's airspace."

"It was monitored by us on radars and left the airspace. We have confirmation of this on radars and from allies" in NATO, he said.

Update 2/7/24, 4:33 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.

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