Poland puts fighter jets on alert to ‘ensure safety of Polish airspace’ as Ukraine is bombed

On Tuesday Poland placed four F-16 fighter jets on alert at their eastern border “ensure safety of Polish airspace.”

Russia launched a massive attack on the capital, Kyiv and the north-eastern city of Kharkiv in a series of airstrikes.

On Monday Vladimir Putin warned, that “We’re going to intensify the strikes. No crime against civilians will rest unpunished – that’s for certain.”

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Putin added that Russian forces will continue with their attacks on “military installations,” he then warned, “We are doing that today and tomorrow. We will continue doing it.”

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny said Ukrainian forces destroyed 72 air targets on 2 January, along with ten Kinzhal missiles, three Kaliber ones and 59 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 cruise missiles.

Zaluzhny said in the Telegram channel on Tuesday, “With the forces and means of the Air Force, in cooperation with units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, 72 air targets were destroyed: ten out of ten Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles; some 59 out of 70 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 cruise missiles; three out of three Kaliber cruise missiles. Thanks to our air defense soldiers for their work.”

“Four Kh-31P anti-radar missiles were used from Su-35 tactical aircraft. According to preliminary results, the enemy used 99 air attack weapons – missiles of various types,” Zaluzhny added.

Following the barrage of missiles hitting Ukraine that neighbours Poland, Warsaw put their forces on alert after a missile flew through Polish airspace last Friday.

In order to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, two pairs of F-16 fighters and an allied air tanker were put into action,” the Polish army said in a statement.

In November 2022, a Ukrainian missiles landed in the Polish village of Przewodow close to the border which killed two civilians.

During another Russian attack a Russian missile hit a grain storage site close to a school, some six miles from the Ukrainian border, which raised concerns that NATO could be drawn onto conflict.