{"id":165126,"date":"2025-09-20T16:34:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-live-poland-scrambles-jets-after-moscow-launches-aerial-assault-on-kyiv-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T16:34:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:34:00","slug":"ukraine-war-live-poland-scrambles-jets-after-moscow-launches-aerial-assault-on-kyiv-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-live-poland-scrambles-jets-after-moscow-launches-aerial-assault-on-kyiv-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war live: Poland scrambles jets after Moscow launches aerial assault on Kyiv – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It came as three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace last night, a move described by the country\u2019s foreign ministry as \u2018unprecedentedly brazen\u2019<\/a>
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Polish fighter jets<\/a> were scrambled overnight to protect the Nato-member country\u2019s<\/a> airspace during a major Russian air attack across Ukraine<\/a>.
Polish aircraft and air defences were at the \u201chighest state of readiness,” the operational command said on X, as more than 600 drones and missiles were fired at Ukraine overnight in an air attack which killed at least three and injured dozens.
European countries are on high alert following a string of Russian incursions into Nato territory, as Moscow\u2019s forces continue to probe and provoke the alliance\u2019s defences.
An incursion of three fighter jets into Estonian airspace <\/a>last night was dismissed by Moscow as a \u201cscheduled\u201d flight carried out in \u201cstrict accordance\u201d with airspace rules.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian territory on Friday night where they remained without permission for 12 minutes, the Estonian foreign ministry said.
US<\/a> president Donald Trump<\/a> has warned of \u201cbig trouble\u201d as he grows increasingly dismayed by Russia\u2019s provocations, including repeated drone and fighter jet incursions intoneighbouring countries including Poland<\/a> and Romania<\/a>.
“I don’t love it. I don’t like when that happens. Could be big trouble,\u201d he told reporters, adding that he was yet to be fully briefed on the situation.<\/a>
Nato will meet in Estonia early next week to discuss the Russian incursion. <\/a><\/a>
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine and its partners have laid the groundwork for long-term security guarantees and that he hopes to gauge how close they are to finalizing such commitments during next week’s meetings in New York.
He said European nations are prepared to move forward with a framework if the United States remains closely engaged. He noted that discussions have taken place at multiple levels, including among military leadership and general staffs from both Europe and the US.
“I would like to receive signals for myself on how close we are to understanding that the security guarantees from all partners will be the kind we need,” Mr Zelensky said.
He said sanctions against Russia must remain on the table if peace efforts stall, and that he plans to press the issue in talks with Trump.
“If the war continues and there is no movement toward peace, we expect sanctions,” he said, adding that Trump is looking for strong steps from Europe.
Frozen Russian assets could be used to fund billions of pounds worth of Ukraine\u2019s war effort, Rachel Reeves will announce.
The chancellor will say it is the \u201cright to explore all options to support Ukraine\u201d, at a meeting with her European counterparts in Copenhagen on Saturday.
It comes after Russia provoked global outrage when its jets flew into Estonian airspace on Friday.
The Independent\u2019s Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin with the full report:<\/em><\/strong>
We\u2019re getting more detail through on Russia\u2019s huge overnight air attack on Ukraine overnight.
At least 30 people were wounded in the attack in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, local governor Serhii Lysak said. Several high-rise buildings and homes were damaged in the eastern city of Dnipro.
In the Kyiv region, local authorities said there were strikes in the areas of Bucha, Boryspil and Obukhiv. A home and cars were damaged. In the western region of Lviv, Gov. Maxim Kozytsky said two cruise missiles were shot down.
Russia launched 619 drones and missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said this morning, including 579 drones, eight ballistic missiles and 32 cruise missiles were detected. Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized 552 drones, two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles.
“During the air strike, tactical aviation, in particular F-16 fighters, effectively worked on the enemy’s cruise missiles. Western weapons once again prove their effectiveness on the battlefield,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Poland’s Operational Command on Saturday said Polish and allied aircraft were deployed again overnight, due to Russian long-range airstrikes in neighboring Ukraine.
“Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness,” the operational command said in a post on X.
At 5:40am local time (4:40am UK time), nearly all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.
Shortly after 5am, Polish and allied air forces ended the operation as airstrikes by the Russian Federation against Ukraine were ceased, the Polish command said, adding that the actions were “preventative and aimed at securing airspace in areas adjacent to the threatened area”.
In a post on X later, the operational command described the operation as “preventive,” and “aimed at securing the airspace in areas adjacent to the threatened zone.”
Polish jets have been deployed repeatedly in recent months to patrol the country’s airspace in connection with Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Last week, fellow Nato member Romania said it deployed two F-16 jets to intercept a drone that briefly entered its airspace.
Republican and Democratic senators are seeking a bill which would target Russia\u2019s \u201cshadow fleet\u201d.
The “Sanctioning Harbors and Dodgers of Western Sanctions,” or SHADOW Fleets Act, would provide a list of indicators the US could use to identify vessels supporting the fleet, making it easier to sanction them sooner.
It would also put in place strict sanctions liability for any ship that engages in a transfer with a sanctioned Russian vessel.
US Senator Jim Risch said: \u201cPutin will use every trick in the book to evade U.S. sanctions, and the U.S. is cracking down on this illicit shadow fleet of ships that he uses to fund his war.
\u201cThese ships and the oil sales they facilitate directly threaten American and European security, and will be stopped.\u201d
UK officials have joined leaders across Europe in condemning Russia\u2019s incursion into NATO airspace today.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: \u201cThis is yet another edition of the Putin playbook.
\u201cPutin\u2019s aggression only serves to strengthen the unity of NATO and our resolve to stand with Ukraine.\u201d
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK was standing in solidarity with its Estonian allies, calling the incursion \u201creckless\u201d
\u201cWe must continue to increase pressure on Putin, including driving forward the important new economic sanctions announced by the UK & EU in recent days,\u201d she said.
A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack struck multiple regions across Ukraine early on Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, Ukrainian officials confirmed.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the assaults impacted nine regions, including Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy, and Kharkiv.
\u201cThe enemy\u2019s target was our infrastructure, residential areas and civilian enterprises,\u201d he said, adding that a missile equipped with cluster munitions struck a multi-story building in the city of Dnipro.
Read more on Russia\u2019s latest deadly air attack on Ukraine:<\/em><\/strong>
Britain’s top spy has delivered a stark warning that Vladimir Putin harbours “absolutely no evidence” of a genuine desire to negotiate a peace deal for Ukraine, accusing the Russian leader of “stringing us along”.
Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6, who will step down in September after five years, made the comments in an outgoing speech. He noted that despite months of US-led talks and Donald Trump\u2019s ultimatums, a truce appears no closer.
Speaking at the British consulate in Istanbul on Friday, Sir Richard reiterated there was “absolutely no evidence” the Russian leader wants to settle the conflict. Instead, he suggested Mr Putin seeks to “impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal”.
\u201cBut he cannot succeed,\u201d Sir Richard said.
Read the full report:<\/em><\/strong>
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Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inNext articleIt came as three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace last night, a move described by the country\u2019s foreign ministry as \u2018unprecedentedly brazen\u2019From reproductive rights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}