Russian strikes on Ukraine kill 13 as Poland scrambles fighter jets
Sirens sounded in Lublin, eastern Poland, overnight due to the Russian strikes on Ukraine.
At least 13 people have been killed in Russian air strikes in Ukraine on Thursday, with attacks extending as far as the western city of Lviv, forcing neighbouring Poland to scramble fighter jets to secure its airspace.
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The attacks come as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returns from the United States, where he said President Donald Trump agreed to give Ukraine licences for Patriot missiles.
Air raid alerts sounded across most regions of Ukraine, with witnesses reporting explosions heard in the capital of Kyiv. A few non-residential sites caught fire, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.
One person was killed and two more injured in the capital, emergency services said, with six more, including two children, killed in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava.
In President Zelenskyy's hometown, the central city of Kryvyi Rih, two girls aged five and 12 were among six killed, with eight injured in what Oleksandr Vilkul, the city's defence council head, said was a direct strike by a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile.
"A dark night," Mr Vilkul said on Telegram, adding that the missile, launched from Russia's Voronezh region, struck the home of a large family, and warned the death toll could increase as emergency workers clear away rubble.
In Lviv, close to Poland, rescue workers were scrambling to clear away rubble to reach those trapped after Russian missiles damaged two apartment buildings and injured 15, officials said.
Earlier, Mr Zelenskyy had warned a massive Russian attack was likely, saying the safety of Ukrainians depended on the willingness of allies to provide anti-missile defences.
"It is important that our partners fully understand what is happening and that the protection of lives directly depends on their readiness, or lack thereof, to help us with air defense missiles," Mr Zelenskyy said.
"First and foremost, this concerns the United States and those partners that have Patriot missiles and can provide them to support our defense.
"Every partner knows what is needed and fully understands the consequences of marking time. Please, in all regions of Ukraine, pay attention to air raid alerts today and stay safe."
I received a report from Air Force Commander Anatolii Kryvonozhko. The Russians prepared a massive attack several days ago, and there is a high probability that the strike will be carried out tonight. It is important that our partners fully understand what is happening and that…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 29, 2026
Poland, a member of the European Union and NATO, scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace amid Russian air strikes, its armed forces said on X.
"Fighter aircraft and an early warning aircraft have begun operations, while ground-based air defence systems and radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of readiness," they said, adding that the steps were preventive.
Sirens sounded in Lublin, eastern Poland, overnight due to the Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Police police said that early this morning they received a report of a loud bang heard in Biłgoraj county, between the villages of Tarnawa Kolonia and Biskupice.
Officers discovered a crater and scattered debris from an unidentified object in a field, and the site has now been secured by police.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France condemned in the strongest possible terms the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine, as well as the violation of Polish airspace.
"Our support for Ukraine and our allies is unwavering," added Macron on X, in a post that was also addressed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Elsewhere, a warehouse of Russian top online retailer Wildberries caught fire in the western city of Penza after Ukraine's drone attack, regional governor Oleg Melnichenko said on Telegram.
One person was injured and about 200 people evacuated from the site, he added, just a day after the company, which has become a frequent target of Ukraine's attacks, evacuated another facility in central Russia.
Wildberries has redirected its supply chains after the Penza attack, it said on Telegram.
Drone strikes have damaged nearly a dozen Wildberries warehouses recently, destroying about 10% of storage capacity and inflicting losses on tens of thousands of small businesses using the platform, the company and local authorities say.
Russia's biggest bank, Sberbank SBER.MM, has warned it may have to boost loan-loss provisions as attacks on Wildberries hit the finances of online retailers and their suppliers.
Russia downed a total of 258 drones overnight, its defence ministry said. That figure covers Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
Reuters news agency could not independently verify all the reports. Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war following Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.