Poland on Sunday scrambled fighter jets to secure its airspace after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine's Lviv region on the Polish border.
"Polish and allied aircraft are intensively operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness,” the Polish Armed Forces' Operational Command said in a statement. Poland last month scrambled fighter jets and took preventive measures in response to incursion of Russian decoy drones over its airspace. Multiple drones were downed by Polish and NATO fighter jets. A number of other NATO members reported drone sightings over their airspace over past weeks. Since then, the alliance has been on high alert and discussed the building of a "drone wall" to counter Russian incursions.
Russia's five-hour-bombardment of Ukraine's western Lviv city, which is around 70 km from the Polish border, killed four members of one family on Sunday and injured 14 others. One of the victims was a fifteen-year-old girl who died with her family members as their house was hit. Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovy said the city was left without electricity and public transport routes were not operating due to the massive attack. “Russia targeted residential areas with drones and aerial bombs. Across all affected areas, residential buildings and critical infrastructure were damaged,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine had “again come under a combined Russian attack”that involved 500 Shaheed and other drones and 50 missiles, including cruise missiles and Kinzhal ballistic missiles. Sunday's attack was the largest bombardment of Liviv, which had remained relatively safe since Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 .A number of Ukrainian regions were also hit, including western Ivano-Frankivsk, as well as Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv. One person was killed in air strike on south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region.
No-fly zone
In his remarks on Sunday, Zelenskyy resumed his call for Ukraine’s allies to help enhance air defences and to introduce a no-fly zone - something they have so far been reluctant to do.
“A unilateral ceasefire in the skies is possible – and it is precisely that which could open the way to real diplomacy. America and Europe must act to make Putin stop,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kalla expressed support for Ukraine amid Russia's "terror attack". “We keep supporting Ukraine as long as needed: finalizing the next sanctions package, ensuring financing, providing weapons. Russia will not stop until forced to," Kalla wrote on X. “Russia is masking its failed summer offensive with terror attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure,” she noted.
