Kyiv
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NATO scrambled fighter jets in the airspace of Poland and Romania as Russia launched a massive nighttime offensive across Ukraine, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more.
Romania’s Defense Ministry said a Russian drone entered its airspace during an attack on an apartment complex in the western city of Ternopil.
Dozens of people were injured in the attack in Ternopil, 16 of them children, according to Ukraine’s emergency services.
The Russian attack involved 470 drones and 48 missiles and mainly focused on western Ukraine, near the Romanian and Polish borders. Russian attacks often target the east of the country, and many Ukrainians have fled to the west, believing they are safer.
A drone crash in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv also damaged an apartment building, set several cars on fire and injured dozens of people.
Romania’s Ministry of Defense announced that it had scrambled two Eurofighters, part of the NATO fleet, and then two Romanian F-16 fighter jets after detecting Russian drones entering the eastern region of Tulcea.
On Wednesday morning, fighter jets from Poland and its allies also launched to protect Polish airspace, according to the country’s operational command.
Meanwhile, Russia said on Tuesday that it had shot down four US-made ATACMS long-range missiles “deep” in its territory, claiming that Ukraine had fired them. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the missile was shot down over the city of Voronezh, about 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
The use of the missile, which has a maximum range of 300 kilometers (186 miles), was first authorized under President Biden’s administration, and Russia had previously viewed its use as a serious escalation.
Many areas of Ukraine were left without power on Wednesday after a strike against the country’s energy infrastructure.
Poland’s aviation security service PANSA said in X that Rzeszow and Lublin airports in eastern Poland were also closed “due to the need to ensure the freedom of operation of military aviation.” Both airports have since reopened.
The latest move by NATO comes during a tense week. Polish authorities blamed Russia after a major railway line was destroyed in what they said was an “unprecedented act of sabotage” by two Ukrainians “cooperating with Russian services” in Warsaw. Russian officials deny the accusations.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced on Wednesday that the last Russian consulate in the country would be closed following the destruction of the railway tracks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed regret over the move.
Moscow’s latest airstrike came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Turkey for talks with Erdogan, seeking to “revitalize” peace talks and prisoner exchanges with Russia. Although Russia is not involved in these talks, Turkey has become an important interlocutor between the two countries.
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department approved a potential $105 million sale that would allow Ukraine to upgrade its Patriot air defense system, a critical shield against Russian air attacks.
“This proposed sale would improve Ukraine’s ability to address current and future threats by further strengthening Ukraine’s ability to conduct its self-defense and regional security missions with stronger regional sustainment capabilities,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Earlier this week, during a visit to Paris, President Zelenskiy signed a deal to buy “up to 100” French Rafale fighter jets, anti-aircraft defense equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles.
In recent months, NATO allies have ramped up the scramble of fighter jets in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine or when Russian munitions, drones or jets get too close to or cross their borders.
Poland is also very sensitive about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In September, jets shot down several Russian drones that had violated Poland’s airspace during an attack on neighboring Ukraine, in what the military alliance accused Moscow of an “absolutely dangerous” move that raised tensions to a new level.
The operation marked the first firing by NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine.
This article and heading have been updated with additional developments.
