Kyiv
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Poland scrambled fighter jets in its airspace early Sunday, its armed forces said, as neighboring Ukraine came under heavy bombardment from Russian missiles and drones.
At least three people were killed in Kyiv during the overnight attacks, officials said, and drones were still being shot down over the Ukrainian capital on Sunday morning.
Across the border in Poland, already on alert after recent Russian drone incursions over its territory, military aircraft were activated to secure its airspace.
“Fighter pairs on duty have been scrambled, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have been placed on high alert,” Poland’s Operational Command of the Armed Forces wrote on X.
Polish forces said strikes carried out by Russia’s “long-range aviation” on Ukraine prompted the move. “These measures are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened areas,” it said.
The Russian drone and missile attacks triggered air raid alerts across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian Air Force data showed.
A haze of smoke from explosions could be seen lingering over the capital on Sunday morning, photos from a CNN producer showed, with the Russian attacks continuing as residents walked their dogs and ran their morning errands.
Residential buildings and infrastructure were struck, said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a Telegram post. He called the Russian attacks a “war against civilians.”
A 12-year-old girl was among those killed in Kyiv, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration.
Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said in a Telegram post that fallen debris partially damaged a five-story building in the city. A private house and a kindergarten were also damaged, he added.
Dozens of people were also wounded in the air attacks across Ukraine – primarily in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia – according to local officials.