Poland Deploys Fighter Aircraft as Russian forces Targets Ukrainian regions near Poland
Russian forces attacked Ukraine with missile and drone attacks through the night on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, focusing on the key western urban center of Lviv region.
Ukraine's neighbour Polish authorities scrambled fighter jets to protect the security of their national airspace, the Polish military announced. Allied Nato aircraft were also deployed.
Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi confirmed two people were fatally injured in strikes in the area, and an additional two wounded.
Elsewhere, Russia again targeted energy infrastructure - and one was struck in an nocturnal assault on Zaporizhzhia region, where the mayor reported one person lost their life and more than 73,000 people were without electricity.
Military Response
These attacks came days after a American representative said the United States would endorse Ukraine conducting long-range attacks inside Russian territory.
"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and surveillance radars have been brought to the highest state of readiness," military officials said.
At early morning, the entire country was under air raid alerts following air defense warnings of incoming aerial threats.
Infrastructure Damage
Russia has stepped up its assaults against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Lviv's mayor local officials reported several districts - 43 miles from the Polish frontier - had no power, adding that the city's air defence systems were engaged heavily in countering first a UAV and then a missile strike.
As of morning hours, multiple areas were experiencing outages and municipal transit was yet to start running, with authorities stressing that it was "unsafe to venture outdoors".
In the Zaporizhzhia area, the nocturnal assault left "more than 73,000 consumers... without power", according to Ivan Fedorov.
One person was killed, and nine others hurt, Fedorov confirmed.
A 16-year-old girl was one of those requiring hospital treatment, he added, posting photos apparently showing a damaged apartment building and a burnt-out car from the impact location.
Regional Impact
Public transport in Ivano-Frankivsk, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday, its city administration announced.
The multiple strikes were part of Russia's threats against the whole of Ukraine overnight.
At around 06:00, Ukraine's Air Force said the entire territory was facing danger of fresh Russian missile attacks, following prolonged alert periods and warnings of drone and missile attacks.
Occupied Regions
Russian forces have taken control of the majority of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including key eastern cities.
Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it seized in 2014.
International Context
In Russia, air defence units eliminated multiple UAVs during the night, media outlets stated on Sunday.
Recently, a American diplomat said that the United States would support Ukraine conducting long-range operations inside Russian territories.
Meanwhile, a different NATO country - the Baltic nation - had to suspend flights temporarily after objects were spotted.
Lithuania suspended flights at its largest and busiest international airport for several hours, before reopening it at early morning on Sunday.
The airport's operator stated the operational pauses and diversions were "due to a potential stream of balloons heading toward Vilnius Airport".
