Russian drones and missiles flew into Ukrainian skies early Saturday morning, Ukrainian officials said, in a large-scale aerial attack that appeared to target western Ukraine, including areas near borders with NATO allies.
The Ukrainian Air Force said some of the missiles were heading towards the western regions of Zakarpattia and Lviv, bordering Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, all of which are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The The Polish army said on social media that it had sent fighter jets to protect the southeastern part of its territory in case a missile crossed the border, as had happened in the past.
The wave of attacks, targeting a part of the country hitherto little affected by the war, could add urgency to Ukraine’s recent call for help from allies to defend Western area.
Just after midnight on Saturday, Ukrainian Air Force reports of attack drone launches followed by missile salvos. Debris from the downed Russian drone caused a fire at infrastructure in the western region of Vinnytsia and several explosions were heard in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, local officials said. Phuong said. No casualties were immediately reported.
As of 6 a.m. local time, the extent of damage from the attacks remained unclear. Ukraine’s energy minister said energy facilities in five regions had been targeted. In recent months, Russia has attacked the country’s energy infrastructure, in a campaign that appears aimed at cutting off electricity and making people’s lives miserable.
Ukrainian officials argue that if allies used their own aircraft and air defense systems to shoot down Russian missiles flying near their borders, it would ease the burden on Ukraine. facing a shortage of ammunition and anti-aircraft weapons.
“Technically, all of these things are possible. Shoot down Russian missiles that were present on Ukrainian territory, from their aircraft,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement. interview with the New York Times last weeknoted that Ukraine’s western neighbors have deployed jets to protect their airspace during such attacks.
That kind of direct NATO involvement, which analysts say could provoke Russian retaliation, has been opposed by the US government and European countries. Now Washington and other allies have agreed Partial lifting of the ban Regarding Ukraine’s use of Western weapons to attack inside Russia, Ukrainian officials may try to press their case further.
On Friday, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Mr. Zelensky, said in a speech. post on the Telegram messaging app that if Ukraine’s western neighbors shoot down Russian missiles from their territory, it would “allow Ukraine to concentrate its scarce anti-missile systems in the east and south of the country,” which are attacked almost daily.
