Poland activates air defenses during a new massive Russian attack on Ukraine

BarcelonaThe Polish Armed Forces Operational Command closed part of its airspace on Sunday and activated its air defenses—including the deployment of fighter jets—as a "preventive" measure following the latest Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian territory, in order to "ensure security."

The Polish defenses activated this Sunday are in response to the Russian attacks on Ukraine. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia launched 595 drones and 48 missiles overnight, primarily against Kiev, killing four people, including a 12-year-old girl. President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the attack lasted more than 12 hours and caused damage to hospitals, factories, and residential buildings.

The Polish air force, in coordination with allied countries, has begun operating in Polish airspace in response to recent bombing raids by Russian long-range aircraft against Ukraine, the operational command said in a statement released on social media. "We are acting in accordance with the applicable procedures" and activating all "the forces and resources at our disposal."

As part of the operation, the Polish military authorities have also strengthened surveillance in border regions to monitor the current situation and are keeping "their subordinate forces and resources ready for an immediate response."

The Polish authorities have taken these measures after, in recent days, Russian aircraft and drones have violated the airspace of several NATO member states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Denmark, Romania, and Poland itself.

In addition, this Thursday, the United States and Canada activated their defenses due to the threat of two Russian bombers and two fighters that entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, an area still within international airspace where all aircraft are required to identify themselves due to the country's proximity to the United States. Given the lack of identification for Russian military aircraft, the Canadian and U.S. air forces sent a joint force of four fighters, four refueling planes, and a surveillance plane. The Russian planes turned around before entering Alaskan airspace.

Likewise, the armies of Russia and Belarus (the Kremlin's main ally) have carried out maneuvers this month in Belarusian territory with several thousand soldiers and simulated nuclear weapons, some 450 kilometers from the border with Poland. NATO responded by creating the Eastern Sentinel initiative to increase the defense levels of its member countries, especially those closest to Russia.

More bombings in Ukraine

Kiev was the target of the most massive attack of the early morning, with drones and missiles, although Russia also bombed other cities such as Zaporizhia and Khmelnytskyi. In Zaporizhia, located in the southeast of the country, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported that a school was damaged and a high-rise building burned after the impact of the projectiles. At least 16 people were reported injured in that city. Across the country, authorities have reported at least 67 injured.

In this context, according to data from the flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 collected by the Polish broadcaster TVN24, the Warsaw authorities temporarily closed the airspace around the airports of Rzeszów and Lublin, in southeastern Poland, on Sunday due to a "the State".

This week, the Danish government ordered, two nights in a row, to close the airspace around the airport of Aalborg, in northern Denmark, due to drone activity, and on Monday the Norwegian authorities had done the same with the one in Oslo.

The Polish military command has emphasized that the actions undertaken by Polish and allied air forces have been strictly defensive and preventative in nature, focusing on deterring potential threats and maintaining the integrity of national airspace within the framework of the ongoing conflict that has been taking place since Russia invaded Ukraine.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported via Telegram that during this same night it intercepted a total of 41 Ukrainian drones, evidencing a new exchange of attacks in both directions.