Russian missile violates Polish airspace amid barrage on Ukraine
The incident is significant because any attack on a NATO country risks bringing the alliance – including the USA and Western European powers – into the conflict.
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Polish forces were placed on alert after Russian Tu-95 fighter jets took off around 2am (local time) on Sunday. The missile violated Poland’s airspace to a depth of nearly two kilometres before exiting, Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
The missile would have been taken down if its trajectory had been further into Polish territory, according to the defence minister.
Explosive-laden drones also damaged Danube port infrastructure in the Odesa region, Ukraine’s Southern Military Command said on Facebook.
It was the third major Russian attack against Ukraine in four days. Thursday’s strikes centred on Kyiv, while those on Friday targeted the country’s energy facilities, the largest such barrage since the start of Russia’s invasion.
While Ukrainian forces continued to repel attacks along the 1200-kilometre front line, they also took aim at targets inside Moscow-controlled areas.
Kyiv’s forces stuck Russian vessels and military installations in annexed Crimea again on Sunday morning. The landing ships Yamal and Azov were struck, as well as a communications centre and other military infrastructure in Sevastopol, the country’s General Staff said on Telegram.
Sevastopol, home base of Russia’s Black Sea, last week suffered one of the heaviest missile attacks since the war started, Kremlin-installed city Governor Mikail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk thanked the nation’s pilots and navy in a Telegram statement on Friday after reports of explosions on the Russia-annexed peninsula. “Crimea is ours! Jointly – toward victory!” he said.
