Nato fighter jets scrambled over latest drone intrusion, following Russian attacks on western Ukraine
The jets were launched as Russia unleashed a number of drone and missile attacks across western Ukraine.
Both Poland and Romania launched jets overnight in response to a Russian bombardment in western Ukraine near their borders.
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Russia unleashed 470 attack drones and 48 missiles across Ukraine, striking the western cities of Lviv and Ternopil.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes, which damaged residential buildings far from the country’s eastern front line, killed nine people and injured dozens, with others trapped under rubble.
Romania scrambled fighter jets early on Wednesday morning after Russian drones were detected in its airspace, the defence ministry said.
Two German Eurofighters and two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled as the ministry warned citizens in the southeastern counties of Tulcea and Galati to take cover.
The ministry said the radar first picked up the signal of a drone 8 km inside national airspace near the villages of Periprava and Chilia Veche in Tulcea County.
The drone signal disappeared off the radar before reappearing intermittently for 12 minutes near villages in Galati county, it added.
The ministry added that "no impact with the ground of any aerial vehicle'" had been reported but that "teams of specialists" were "ready to initiate searches in the area".
Read more: At least three dead and thousands without power as Russia hits Ukraine with wave of deadly strikes
Meanwhile, Poland said its own and allied aircraft had been deployed in response to the attacks - with fighter jets, an early warning aircraft and air-defence and radar systems moved to maximum readiness to secure airspace near the threatened regions.
Poland’s Rzeszow and Lublin airports were temporarily closed to allow military aviation to operate freely and later reopened, according to the country’s air navigation service.
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said in an X post that they were "monitoring the current situation, and the subordinate forces and resources remain ready for immediate response".
EU and NATO states bordering Ukraine have repeatedly found Russian drone fragments on their territory as Moscow intensifies its attacks.
NATO allies have increasingly scrambled jets during Russian strikes or when stray munitions, drones or warplanes have approached or crossed their borders.
In September, jets shot down multiple Russian drones that violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, prompting NATO to condemn Moscow’s behaviour as "absolutely dangerous" and marking the first time that shots were fired by the alliance since the start of the war in Ukraine.