NATO was forced to scramble fighter jets in Poland on Wednesday amid an onslaught of Russian strikes on neighbouring Ukraine
15:14, 13 May 2026Updated 15:42, 13 May 2026
Russian strikes on Transcarpathia today
NATO has scrambled fighter jets in Poland amid an onslaught of Russian drone strikes on neighbouring Ukraine.
It came as Russian President Vladimir Putin stepped up his aggression following a three-day ceasefire and launched a prolonged, overnight air assault against Ukraine involving Shahed drones, decoys and other types of drones. Ukraine’s Air Force said its air defences shot down or electronically suppressed 111 of 139 drones by 8am local time.
Footage showed one Russian drone slamming into a building in Lutsk, Volyn region, and exploding. Some reports say the target was a Ukrainian SBU security service outpost. There was no immediate confirmation.
“Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory, conducted using a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles, military aviation has begun operating in our airspace,” said the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces.
Russia launched 139 drones overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force said(Image: Social media/East2west News)
The commander “activated the necessary forces and resources at his disposal”, it added.
“Duty fighters and helicopters are operating, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of increased alert.
“These operations are preventative in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to threatened areas.
“The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and subordinate forces and resources remain ready to respond immediately.”
Russian overnight strikes on the Dnipropetrovsk region killed eight people and injured 11 others, the region’s governor said(Image: Social media/East2west News)
Russian overnight strikes on the Dnipropetrovsk region killed eight people and injured 11 others, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.
Hanzha said Russian forces carried out nearly 30 attacks across three districts of the region overnight.
In the Rivne region, a strike on a residential building killed two people and injured four others, according to Ukrainian agrarian minister Vitalii Koval.
On Tuesday, a nine-month-old girl suffered serious leg injuries and was fighting for her life in hospital in Kryvi Rih, a city in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The escalating attacks this week contradict Putin’s comment that the war “is coming to an end”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today repeated Putin’s long-held position that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should order the surrender of more than 20 per cent of Donetsk region still held by Ukraine as the basis for negotiation.
After the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops, “there will be a ceasefire, and the parties can calmly engage in negotiations”, according to Peskov. Ukraine refuses to do so.