Poland Scrambles Jets as Russian forces Attacks Ukrainian regions near Poland
Russia pounded Ukraine with aerial assaults through the night on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, concentrating on the key western urban center of Lviv region.
Ukraine's neighbour Polish authorities deployed combat aircraft to guarantee the safety of Polish airspace, the Polish military confirmed. NATO partner planes were also deployed.
Lviv's regional head local authorities said two individuals were killed in strikes in the area, and an additional two wounded.
In other developments, Russian forces once more struck energy infrastructure - and one was struck in an nocturnal assault on Zaporizhzhia, where the city official reported one person died and more than 73,000 people were without electricity.
Military Response
These attacks came shortly following a US official indicated the United States would endorse Ukrainian forces launching deep strikes inside Russian territory.
"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in Polish skies, while ground-based air defence and surveillance radars have been activated at maximum alert level," Poland's operational command stated.
At 05:10, the entire country was placed on high alert following air defense warnings of incoming aerial threats.
Infrastructure Damage
Russian military has stepped up its assaults against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Lviv's mayor local officials said several districts - 43 miles from the border with Poland - had no power, adding that the local anti-aircraft units were actively involved in countering first a drone and then a Russian missile attack.
As of 07:30, parts of the city were left without power and municipal transit was not operational, with Sadovyi emphasizing that it was "unsafe to go out into the streets".
In the Zaporizhzhia area, Russia's overnight attack left "over seventy-three thousand users... without electricity", according to regional officials.
One person was killed, and nine others hurt, Fedorov confirmed.
A 16-year-old girl was among those receiving medical assistance, he added, releasing images apparently showing a damaged multi-storey block and a burnt-out car from the impact location.
Regional Impact
Public transport in Ivano-Frankivsk, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday morning, its city administration said.
The series of attacks were part of Moscow's offensive against the whole of Ukraine during the night.
At around early morning, Ukrainian defense officials said all of the country was under the threat of new missile strikes, following hours of air raid alerts and notifications of drone and missile attacks.
Territorial Control
Moscow's troops have occupied the majority of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk.
Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it seized in 2014.
International Context
In Russia, anti-aircraft systems destroyed multiple UAVs during the night, news agencies reported on Sunday.
Recently, a American diplomat said that the US would support Ukrainian forces launching deep strikes inside Russian territories.
Meanwhile, another Nato member - Lithuania - had to close its airspace temporarily after objects were spotted.
Authorities halted air traffic at its main Vilnius airport for multiple hours, before resuming operations at early morning on Sunday.
The aviation authorities said the operational pauses and reroutings were "due to a possible series of aerial objects heading toward Vilnius Airport".
