Poland Scrambles Jets as Russian forces Targets Ukrainian regions near Poland
Russia targeted Ukrainian territory with missile and drone attacks through the night on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, focusing on the major western city of Lviv.
Neighboring country Poland scrambled fighter jets to protect the security of their national airspace, the national defense forces announced. NATO partner planes were similarly activated.
Lviv's regional head Maksym Kozytskyi confirmed two individuals were killed in strikes in the area, and an additional two injured.
Elsewhere, Russian forces once more struck Ukraine's power plants - and one was struck in an nocturnal assault on Zaporizhzhia, where the mayor reported an individual lost their life and more than 73,000 people were lacking power.
Defensive Measures
The Russian assaults came shortly following a American representative said the United States would support Ukrainian forces conducting long-range attacks inside Russian territory.
"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in Polish skies, while land-based anti-aircraft systems and radar reconnaissance systems have been activated at maximum alert level," Poland's operational command announced.
At early morning, all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.
Infrastructure Damage
Russian military has stepped up its assaults against the country's power grid.
Lviv's mayor local officials said part of the city - 70 km from the border with Poland - had lost electricity, adding that the city's air defence systems were engaged heavily in countering first a drone and then a Russian missile attack.
As of morning hours, multiple areas were experiencing outages and municipal transit was not operational, with authorities stressing that it was "unsafe to venture outdoors".
In the Zaporizhzhia area, the nocturnal assault left "more than 73,000 consumers... without power", according to regional officials.
One person was killed, and nine others hurt, authorities said.
A 16-year-old girl was one of those requiring hospital treatment, he added, releasing images apparently showing a partly destroyed apartment building and a burnt-out car from the site of the attack.
Regional Impact
Municipal transit in another western city, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday, its mayor announced.
The multiple strikes were components of Russia's threats against the entire nation during the night.
At around 06:00, Ukrainian defense officials warned all of the country was under the threat of new missile strikes, following prolonged alert periods and notifications of aerial assaults.
Occupied Regions
Moscow's troops have taken control of the majority of the Donbas area, including Luhansk and Donetsk.
Russian authorities presently holds around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea region, which it seized in 2014.
International Context
In Russia, air defence units destroyed multiple UAVs overnight, media outlets reported on Sunday.
Last week, a US Special Envoy said that the United States would support Ukraine conducting long-range operations within Russia.
Meanwhile, a different NATO country - the Baltic nation - had to suspend flights briefly after objects were spotted.
Lithuania halted air traffic at its main Vilnius airport for several hours, before reopening it at 04:50 on Sunday.
The airport's operator stated the flight suspensions and diversions were "because of a potential stream of balloons heading toward the aviation facility".