NATO scrambles fighter jets in Polish and Romanian airspace as Russia launches combined attack on Ukraine

By Victoria Butenko, Kosta Gak, Todd Symons, CNN

Kyiv (CNN) — NATO scrambled fighter jets in Polish and Romanian airspace as Russia carried out a massive and deadly attack using ballistic and cruise missiles and hundreds of drones across Ukraine into Wednesday.

Romania defense ministry claimed a Russian drone entered its airspace during the attack.

It comes as Russia said it shot down four US-made ATACMS long-range missiles “deep within” its territory yesterday, that Ukraine claimed it fired. The missiles were taken down over the city of Voronezh, around 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Ukrainian border, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said.

The use of the missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles), was first approved under the Biden Presidency and their use has previously been seen by Russia as as a major escalation.

Wednesday’s Russian attack – which involved 470 drones and 48 missiles – mostly focused on the western areas of Ukraine, which lie close to the borders of Romania and Poland.

Nine people were killed in the city of Ternopil after residential buildings were struck, said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Dozens of people were also wounded in the eastern city of Kharkiv where drone strikes damaged apartment buildings and left several cars burning on the streets.

Many regions of Ukraine were left without power Wednesday after strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.

Romania’s Defense Ministry said it scrambled two Eurofighters, part of NATO’s fleet, and later two Romanian F-16 fighter jets after a Russian drone was detected crossing into the eastern Tulcea region.

Polish and Allied fighter jets were also launched to protect Polish airspace on Wednesday morning, the country’s operational command said.

Poland’s Rzeszow and Lublin airports, in the country’s east, were also closed “due to the need to ensure freedom of operation for military aviation,” the country’s air navigation service PANSA said on X. They were later reopened.

The latest move by NATO comes during a tense week. Polish officials have pointed the finger at Russia after a key train track was destroyed in what Warsaw said was an “unprecedented act of sabotage” committed by two Ukrainian citizens who were “collaborating with Russian services.” Russian officials have denied the accusation.

The latest aerial attack by Moscow came hours after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey to meet with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he tries to “reinvigorate” peace talks and prisoner of war exchanges with Russia. Moscow is not involved in those talks, but Turkey has been a key interlocutor between the two.

Late Tuesday, the US State Department approved a possible $105m sale that would allow Ukraine to upgrade its Patriot air defense system – a critical shield against Russian aerial attacks.

“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s ability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust local sustainment capability,” said a Pentagon statement.

Earlier this week, Zelensky struck a deal to purchase “up to 100” French-made Rafale fighter jets as well as anti-air defenses and drones from France, during a visit to Paris.

NATO allies have increasingly scrambled fighter jets in recent months during Russian attacks on Ukraine, or when stray Russian munitions, drones and warplanes have either strayed too close, or across, their borders.

Poland has also been acutely on edge over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In September, jets shot down multiple Russian drones that violated Polish airspace during an attack on neighboring Ukraine, as the military alliance denounced Moscow for “absolutely dangerous” behavior that ratcheted up tensions to a new level.

The operation marked the first time that shots were fired by NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine.

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CNN’s Antonia Mortensen contributed reporting