Poland scrambles fighter jets after Russia launches massive aerial attack on Ukraine

Polish and allied military aircraft were scrambled early Saturday, September 20, following Russia's massive aerial assault on Ukraine that included strikes near the western border with Poland. The response came hours after NATO intercepted three Russian jets over Estonia's airspace.

"Due to the activity of the Russian Federation's long-range aviation, which is carrying out strikes on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation has begun operating in our airspace," the Polish military posted on X.

"Duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and ground-based air defense systems as well as radiolocation reconnaissance have reached a state of maximum readiness," the military statement said.


Also read: NATO's 'eyes in sky' scour eastern flank for Russian threats

The scrambling of Polish jets occurred as Europe remains on heightened alert following a series of Russian airspace violations in eastern countries.

Russia launches 579 drones and missiles at Ukraine

Russia launched 579 attack drones and various types of dummy drones at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to Kyiv's Air Force. Moscow also launched eight ballistic missiles and 32 cruise missiles in the attack.

"All night, Ukraine was under a massive attack by Russia," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He reported that three people were killed in the shelling and dozens more injured.

"Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorize civilians and destroy our infrastructure," Zelensky said. "That is why a strong international response is needed."

Regional authorities reported that eight people were killed and at least 32 injured in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.

NATO intercepts Russian jets over Estonia

On Friday, NATO intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that violated Estonia's airspace in what Estonia called an "unprecedentedly brazen" incident. Estonia's foreign ministry said the jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission and remained there for 12 minutes total.

Estonia's military said the jets had their transponders switched off and did not have flight plans, potentially endangering other aircraft.

Italian F-35 fighters stationed in Estonia as part of NATO's Eastern Sentry operation, along with Swedish and Finnish aircraft, responded to the intrusion, NATO said.

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Russia denied its jets had entered Estonian airspace, claiming the flight was carried out "in strict accordance with international rules" and "without violating the borders of other countries."

Estonia requests NATO Article 4 consultations

Estonia has requested NATO Article 4 consultations following the airspace violation. The mechanism allows any member to formally bring an issue to NATO's principal political decision-making body. A meeting is scheduled for early next week.

Russian drones violated both Polish and Romanian airspace earlier this month, prompting NATO allies to pledge strengthened defenses on the bloc's eastern flank.

Earlier this month, NATO fighter jets shot down multiple Russian drones that violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine. The operation marked the first time shots were fired by NATO since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February, 2022.

The military alliance denounced Moscow's "absolutely dangerous" behavior following the drone shootdown incident.

Peace process remains stagnant

The latest attacks occur amid a stagnant peace process, with Ukraine's allies focusing on securing long-term security guarantees for Kyiv. Zelensky said he will meet with US President Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York next week and would assess whether such guarantees are close to being finalized.

Also read: 12 minutes that rattled Estonia - what exactly happened? Key points to know

Efforts by Trump to organize a joint summit with Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have been unsuccessful so far.