Warsaw ordered the emergency takeoff of Polish and allied fighter jets and AWACS aircraft in the early hours of the morning amid Russian missile and drone strikes on sectors of western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, the NATO member state's general staff operations command announced.
"Pairs of rapid reaction fighter jets and an early warning aircraft were hastily scrambled, and ground-based air defense and airspace surveillance systems were put on maximum alert," the command explained via X.
At 06:00 (local time and Greek time), almost all of Ukraine was on alert due to a warning from the air force about Russian raids with missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The country is on alert after incidents of sabotage attributed to Russia
Warsaw announced yesterday that it would raise the threat level on some railway lines and use the army to protect critical infrastructure. The statement came in the wake of incidents of "Russian-origin" sabotage, such as the explosion on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line, which connects the Polish capital to the Ukrainian border.
The climate of concern prevailing in Poland is reflected in the statement by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Wisław Kukula, that Russia "has begun to prepare for war" and that his country "has entered a pre-war phase."
"The head of the Home Office and the Home Secretary have asked me to introduce the third threat level, Charlie, due to terrorist threats," Donald Tusk told parliament yesterday. "This level will apply to certain railway lines while the rest of the country will remain at the second alert level."
Tusk told MPs that two suspects in the recent sabotage on the Polish railway have been identified, adding that they are Ukrainians with long-standing ties to Russian intelligence who fled to Belarus.
Kremlin accuses Poland of Russophobia
The Kremlin accused Poland yesterday of giving in to Russophobia after Warsaw attributed the explosion on a railway line to Ukraine to two suspects linked to Russian intelligence services.
"Russia is blamed for all manifestations of the hybrid and direct warfare that is taking place," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a journalist on Russian state television.
"In Poland, for example, everyone is trying to catch up with the European locomotive in this regard. And Russophobia, of course, is flourishing there."
At least 32 injured in 3rd consecutive night of Russian raids in Kharkiv region
At least 32 people were injured in a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv (northeast), the regional governor of the region of the same name announced during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the third consecutive day that the city has been attacked.
Over the past two nights, Russian strikes, mainly with missiles, have killed at least four people in the region, including a 17-year-old girl.
Regional governor Oleh Sinekhubov spoke via Telegram of a “massive attack on Kharkiv,” with at least “11 enemy drones,” during which “a nine-story building was hit and then caught fire.” “The number of injured in Kharkiv so far stands at 32,” he added.
Shortly before midnight (local time and Greek time), Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, reported via Telegram that the second most populous city in Ukraine before the war broke out in February 2022, very close to the border, was being "attacked by enemy drones" and that "explosions" could be heard.
Since the start of its military invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been targeting Ukrainian cities almost daily with drones and missiles. As winter approaches and temperatures drop, Moscow's forces have been escalating their bombing of energy infrastructure in recent weeks. Kiev, for its part, has been targeting fuel storage facilities, oil refineries and other facilities on Russian territory almost daily.
Source: protothema.gr
