Poland scrambled fighter jets on Monday morning to secure its airspace after neighbouring western Ukraine was hit by major Russian strikes.
‘Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,’ Warsaw’s Operational Command said in a statement on social media.
Russia struck deep beyond the frontlines overnight, hitting western Ukraine with dozens of drones and missiles, according to Rivne Mayor Oleksandr Tretyak, who called it ‘the largest attack’ on the region.
Russia has recently accelerated its campaign against Ukraine, dampening hopes of a ceasefire after a renewed diplomatic push to end the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Poland is one of Ukraine’s closest allies and serves as a crucial logistics hub for Western military aid to Kyiv.
The scramble to head off Russian aircraft and missiles comes as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to urge a ‘400-per cent increase’ in the transatlantic alliance’s air and missile defence capacities in response to the threat from Moscow.
‘We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,’ Rutte is expected to say in a speech to the Chatham House think-tank in London, according to comments quoted in a statement.
FILE PHOTO: A Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jet takes off during a demonstration flight at the 31st Tactical Air Base in Poznan-Krzesiny, Poland, 10 February 2025
The covered body of a woman killed at the site where a Russian bomb hit the Children’s Railway, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 June 2025
Fire and smoke rise from the site where a Russian missile struck a residential area in Ukraine
Russian missiles damaged several buildings in the eastern Ukrainian town of Druzhkivka, Druzhkivka, Ukraine on June 8, 2025
A view of destruction following the two-hour Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine
A Russian Tu-95MS ‘Bear’ strategic bomber aircraft is pictured
In March 2024, NATO member Poland reported a breach of its airspace by a Russian cruise missile, demanding an explanation from Moscow.
A similar incident occurred in December 2023, when a Russian missile penetrated Polish airspace for several minutes before returning to Ukraine.
The extent of the damage caused by Russia’s bombing raids last night is not yet clear.
But the Ukrainian military said early this morning that it had struck back, destroying two military planes at Russia’s Savasleyka airfield in Nizhny Novgorod overnight.
‘According to preliminary information, two enemy aircraft (presumably MiG-31 and Su-30/34 aircraft) were struck,’ it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The MiG-31 is a high-speed, high-altitude interceptor aircraft designed to target cruise missiles and the enemy planes that shoot them. It is also used to escort Moscow’s strategic bombers on long-range strike missions.
The Su-34 is a mid-range bomber aircraft that has been used extensively in the war against Ukraine.
In a separate strike, Ukrainian drones forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga river region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said on Monday.
‘At least two drones’ hit the VNIIR Scientific Research Design and Technological Institute of Relay Engineering facility that specialises in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs and high-precision weapons.
The Ukrainian military said the drone attack sparked a large -scale fire at the VNIIR plant, though the governor of the Chuvashia region reported there were no casualties.
The Russian defence ministry said air defence systems destroyed 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia.
Kyiv has often said that its attacks inside Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts and are in response to the continued Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Another attack on the Voronezh region that borders Ukraine damaged a gas pipeline, cutting off gas supplies to 22 clients, the region’s governor, Alexander Gusev, said on Telegram.
tThe Ukrainian military said early this morning that it had struck back, destroying two military planes at Russia’s Savasleyka airfield in Nizhny Novgorod overnight, including a MiG-31 interceptor (pictured)
Ukraine claimed to have destroyed a Su-34 tactical bomber aircraft
A man stands amid rubble in destroyed house at residential district after Russian shelling on June 7, 2025 in Kharkiv
Firefighters extinguish a fire at damaged residential building after Russian shelling on June 7, 2025 in Kharkiv
Smoke rises from top floors of damaged residential building after Russian shelling on June 7, 2025
Rutte’s call to NATO allies to increase air defence capacities will be made ahead of an alliance summit in the Netherlands this month where US President Donald Trump is pressuring members to announce a major boost in their military budgets.
Trump is pushing NATO members to increase their defence spending to five percent of their gross domestic product (GDP), up from the current target of two percent.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said last week in Brussels that the allies were close to an agreement on the five-percent target, which could be formalised at the summit in The Hague.
NATO members have been scrambling to bolster their defence capabilities since Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022.
‘Danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends,’ Rutte was to say.
‘We need a quantum leap in our collective defence… We must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full.’
‘Our militaries also need thousands more armoured vehicles and tanks, millions more artillery shells.’
Rutte will visit London next week, where he is expected to welcome Britain’s new defence strategy.
Britain announced plans last week to build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines and six munitions factories to rearm the country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
