NATO fighters deployed to Poland as Russia bombs Ukraine

LONDON — NATO fighter jets were mobilized and air defense systems put on alert in Poland in response to Russia’s latest nighttime drone and missile attacks in Ukraine, the Armed Forces Operational Command in Warsaw said in a series of social media posts.

“Combat aircraft have been deployed and ground-based air defense systems, as well as radar reconnaissance systems, have reached a state of readiness,” the command said in a post sent to X.

“These actions are preventive in nature and aim to ensure airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions,” he added.

The alert lasted just under four hours, after which the command said the fighters and air defense systems had “returned to standard operational activities.” No violations of Polish airspace were observed, according to a follow-up post by X.

Spanish and Czech air forces were involved in the response, the command said, as were German and Dutch air defense systems.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles (17 of them ballistic) into the country overnight. The air force said 585 drones and 30 missiles were shot down or suppressed.

Drone and missile hits were reported at 29 locations, the air force said.

The attack, which consisted of 704 air attack weapons, was Russia’s largest nighttime bombing raid since it dropped 705 munitions on the night of Oct. 29, according to Ukrainian air force data analyzed by ABC News.

The largest attack of the war to date took place on the night of September 6 and involved 823 air attack vehicles. The latest night attack is only the fourth in Russia’s large-scale invasion to date in which the number of air attack vehicles used exceeded 700.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Iho Klymenko said in a Telegram post that 10 regions of the country were attacked, with direct hits on residential buildings, railways and energy infrastructure.

According to Klymenko, more than two dozen houses in the kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr and Lviv regions were damaged.

At least three people were injured in the kyiv region, another three people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region and two people were injured in the Lviv region, Klymenko said.

In the Black Sea port city of Odessa, regional governor Oleh Kiper said a power facility was damaged, causing disruptions to power and heating supplies. At 9:30 a.m. local time, some 9,500 customers were without heat and 34,000 without water.

According to authorities, damage was also caused to energy infrastructure in the Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said she had “convened an emergency coordination meeting” with the ministers of the Interior and Energy, as well as the heads of state energy companies and all services responsible for recovery operations.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post for X: “Russia continues to ignore any peace efforts and instead attacks critical civilian infrastructure, including our energy and railway system.”

“This shows that no decision can be delayed to strengthen Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia,” Sybiha added. “And even less so under the pretext of a peace process.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post that energy facilities were “the main targets of these attacks.”

“Russia’s goal is to inflict suffering on millions of Ukrainians,” the president wrote. “That is exactly why additional pressure is needed. Sanctions must work, as do our air defences, which means we must maintain support for those who defend lives.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down at least 121 drones from Friday night to Saturday morning.

Morgan Winsor of ABC News, Natalia Kushnir, Natalia Popova and Anna Sergeeva contributed to this report.