KYIV (Reuters) – Explosions struck the Ukrainian capital Kiev and other cities, and neighboring Poland scrambled its air force early on Sunday after both countries said a Russian missile attack was underway. Ta.
The operational command of Poland, a NATO member, said: “Due to large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation against objects in western Ukraine, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, Polish and allied aircraft are prohibited from operating in our airspace. It has started,” he announced. Troops stationed at X.
“All available forces and resources were mobilized at our disposal, the combat aircraft pair on the mission was scrambled, and the ground air defense and radar reconnaissance systems reached maximum readiness,” the military said.
A Reuters witness said explosions were heard in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya and the Black Sea port of Odessa, prompting Ukraine’s air force to issue a nationwide air raid alert, but the scale of the attack was unclear.
The Air Force called on residents to evacuate and said a large number of missiles, including various types of cruise missiles, were flying over Ukrainian airspace.
Ukrainian authorities said they had cut power outages in many regions, including Kiev, as a precautionary measure.
The missile attack followed a nighttime drone attack on the Ukrainian capital. At least one person was injured after falling debris caused a fire on the roof of a house, city officials said on the messaging app Telegram.
“Emergency services were called to the scene,” Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Ukraine has been on high alert for weeks as winter sets in, fearing a major Russian missile attack. Previous attacks have targeted power grids, causing large-scale power outages.
