Massive attack on Ukraine
Poland’s army: Russian missile temporarily entered Polish airspace
Polish Chief of General Staff Wieslaw Kukula: “Everything indicates that a Russian missile has entered Polish airspace”
© Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto / Imago Images
On Friday, Ukraine was hit by the worst air strike since the start of the war. According to Polish information, a Russian missile entered Poland’s airspace – and thus also NATO airspace.
According to Polish army information, a Russian missile flew through Polish airspace on Friday morning and headed towards Leaving Ukraine again. “Everything indicates that a Russian missile has entered Polish airspace,” Polish Chief of General Staff Wieslaw Kukula told reporters. The missile was spotted using radar and immediately left Polish airspace towards Ukraine. According to the information, the rocket was in Polish airspace for about three minutes and flew over 40 kilometers.
The incident occurred against the backdrop of one of the most violent waves of attacks in recent months. Poland’s chief of general staff said they had tracked the trajectory of most of the Russian missiles during the night. One of them then flew over the Ukrainian border with Poland. “We have instructed our aircraft to intercept them and shoot them down if necessary.” However, this was not possible because of the short time and the way the rocket flew. To be on the safe side, soldiers would still search for any debris on the ground along the flight path.
Heavy air strike by Russia on Ukraine
Russia bombed Ukraine just before New Year’s Day; Nationwide, more than 20 people were killed and more than 130 others were injured. The Ukrainian leadership spoke of massive “terror” against the civilian population. As of Friday afternoon, 26 people were known to have died and 137 people were injured, according to the regional Ukrainian authorities. There were deaths in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odessa, Lviv (Lemberg) and the capital Kiev.
The military in Kiev spoke of the “most massive air attack” on Ukraine since the beginning of the war – almost two years. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired 158 missiles and combat drones against the country. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valeryi Zalushnyj spoke of 122 rockets and cruise missiles as well as 36 drones. Never since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have there been such strong air strikes on one day as there are now at the end of the year.
The highest officially reported number of Russian missiles fired at Ukraine in one day to date was more than 90. This time, the air defense was able to intercept more than 70 percent of the Russian attacks, said Saluschnyj. The strikes were carried out in several waves from different directions and using strategic bombers.
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The Defense Ministry in Moscow only commented on the attack in passing and spoke of a “massaged strike with high-precision weapons and drones.” This was carried out against military targets such as arms factories, military airports and weapons depots. “All targeted objects were hit,” the ministry emphasized.
The air strikes are seen as a targeted attempt by the Russian military leadership to break Ukrainians’ resistance to the invasion ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Many civilians continue to fall victim to Russian attacks. Many residential buildings and civilian buildings were also in flames on Friday. There were images of devastation. In Kiev, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, injured people had to be pulled from the rubble of a building that had been hit.
In November 2022, a rocket hit a Polish village on the border with Ukraine, killing two civilians. The West assumes that it was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that was used to defend against Russian attacks.