Polish forces Deploys Jets as Russia Attacks Western Ukraine
Russian forces pounded Ukrainian territory with aerial assaults overnight on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, focusing on the key western urban center of Lviv.
Neighboring country Polish authorities deployed fighter jets to guarantee the safety of their national airspace, the national defense forces confirmed. Allied Nato aircraft were similarly activated.
Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said two individuals were fatally injured in strikes in the area, and an additional two injured.
In other developments, Russia once more struck Ukraine's power plants - and a facility was hit in an overnight attack on Zaporizhzhia region, where the mayor reported an individual died and over seventy-three thousand residents were lacking power.
Military Response
The Russian assaults came days after a American representative stated the US would support Ukrainian forces launching deep strikes within Russia's borders.
"Our and partner nations' jets are operating in our airspace, while land-based anti-aircraft systems and surveillance radars have been activated at maximum alert level," military officials said.
At 05:10, the entire country was placed on high alert following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.
Energy System Attacks
Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Lviv's mayor Andriy Sadovyi reported part of the city - 43 miles from the border with Poland - had no power, adding that the city's air defence systems were actively involved in repelling first a UAV and then a missile strike.
As of morning hours, parts of the city were experiencing outages and public transport was yet to start running, with Sadovyi stressing that it was "unsafe to go out into the streets".
In the Zaporizhzhia area, Russia's overnight attack left "more than 73,000 consumers... without power", according to Ivan Fedorov.
One person was fatally wounded, and nine others hurt, authorities confirmed.
A 16-year-old girl was among those requiring hospital treatment, he added, posting photos depicting a damaged multi-storey block and a burnt-out car from the site of the attack.
Regional Impact
Public transport in another western city, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday, its mayor announced.
The series of attacks were components of Moscow's offensive against the entire nation during the night.
At around 06:00, Ukrainian defense officials warned the entire territory was facing danger of new missile strikes, following hours of air raid alerts and notifications of aerial assaults.
Territorial Control
Russian forces have taken control of the majority of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk.
Russian authorities currently controls around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea region, which it seized in 2014.
Global Developments
In Russian territory, air defence units eliminated 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, media outlets stated on Sunday morning.
Last week, a American diplomat indicated that the United States would back Ukrainian forces launching deep strikes inside Russian territories.
Meanwhile, a different NATO country - the Baltic nation - had to close its airspace briefly after unidentified items were detected.
Authorities suspended flights at its largest and busiest international airport for multiple hours, before resuming operations at 04:50 on Sunday.
The airport's operator said the flight suspensions and diversions were "because of a potential stream of aerial objects approaching Vilnius Airport".
