Polish forces Scrambles Fighter Aircraft as Russia Targets Ukrainian regions near Poland
Russian forces attacked Ukrainian territory with aerial assaults overnight on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, concentrating on the key western urban center of Lviv.
Neighboring country Polish authorities activated fighter jets to guarantee the safety of their national airspace, the national defense forces announced. NATO partner planes were similarly activated.
Lviv's regional head local authorities reported two people were fatally injured in strikes in the area, and an additional two wounded.
In other developments, Russian forces again targeted Ukraine's power plants - and a facility was hit in an overnight attack on Zaporizhzhia region, where the mayor reported one person lost their life and over seventy-three thousand residents were without electricity.
Defensive Measures
The Russian assaults came days after a US official stated the United States would support Ukraine conducting long-range attacks inside Russian territory.
"Our and partner nations' jets are active in our airspace, while land-based anti-aircraft systems and surveillance radars have been activated at maximum alert level," Poland's operational command announced.
At 05:10, the entire country was placed on high alert following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of incoming aerial threats.
Infrastructure Damage
Russian military has escalated its attacks on the country's power grid.
Lviv's mayor Andriy Sadovyi reported part of the city - 43 miles from the Polish frontier - had lost electricity, adding that the city's air defence systems were engaged heavily in countering first a drone and then a missile strike.
As of 07:30, multiple areas were left without power and public transport was not operational, with authorities stressing that it was "dangerous to venture outdoors".
In the Zaporizhzhia area, the nocturnal assault left "over seventy-three thousand users... without power", according to regional officials.
One person was fatally wounded, and nine injured, authorities said.
A teenage female was one of those requiring hospital treatment, he added, releasing images depicting a partly destroyed multi-storey block and a destroyed vehicle from the site of the attack.
Wider Consequences
Municipal transit in Ivano-Frankivsk, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday morning, its city administration announced.
The series of attacks were components of Moscow's offensive against the entire nation during the night.
At around 06:00, Ukraine's Air Force warned the entire territory was facing danger of fresh Russian missile attacks, following prolonged alert periods and notifications of aerial assaults.
Occupied Regions
Moscow's troops have taken control of most of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk.
Russia presently holds around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea region, which it seized in 2014.
Global Developments
In Russian territory, air defence units eliminated multiple UAVs during the night, news agencies stated on Sunday.
Recently, a American diplomat said that the US would support Ukrainian forces launching deep strikes inside Russian territories.
Meanwhile, another Nato member - Lithuania - had to close its airspace temporarily after objects were spotted.
Authorities suspended flights at its main Vilnius airport for several hours, before reopening it at 04:50 on Sunday.
The aviation authorities said the flight suspensions and reroutings were "due to a possible series of aerial objects heading toward the aviation facility".