Russian missile headed for Ukraine briefly enters Polish airspace
Poland's military has said that a Russian missile fired at Ukraine briefly entered its airspace on Sunday.
Warsaw has placed its forces on heightened readiness.
Kyiv and Ukraine's western Lviv region came under a "massive" Russian air attack early morning Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine said it intercepted 18 Russian missiles and 25 drones during the large-scale attack on the country's capital, with an air alert lasting more than two hours.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, according to the head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko.
“The enemy continues massive missile terror against Ukraine,” he wrote on Telegram. “It does not give up its goal of destroying Kyiv at any cost.”
Seven drones and 20 missiles targeted " critical infrastructure" in Lviv, mayor Andriy Sadovy detailed.
NATO member Poland said in a statement that its airspace was violated at 4:23 a.m. local time by one Russian cruise missile bound for western Ukraine.
The missile entered near the Polish town of Oserdów and stayed there for 39 seconds, the statement said.
It added that military radar systems observed the missile the entire time and all necessary procedures were launched to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.
The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command (RSZ) said its forces were in a heightened state of readiness because of the “intensive long-range aviation activity of the Russian Federation tonight” and the missile attacks in Ukraine.
“Polish and allied aircraft have been activated, which may result in increased noise levels, especially in the south-eastern part of the country,” it said.
There have been multiple intrusions into Polish airspace, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
In 2022, two Poles were killed in a missile blast.
Western officials blamed those deaths on a stray Ukrainian air defence missile, but also accused Russia of culpability because it started the war and the Ukrainian missiles were fired in self-defence.
