Nato scrambled its warplanes overnight after Ukraine was battered by the heaviest strikes of the war with Russia so far.
Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory was hit by 741 hypersonic missiles and kamikaze drones on Tuesday night – the most in one night since the conflict began in 2023.
Lutsk and Ternopil in the west of Ukraine were some of the heaviest-hit targets, sparking an emergency response from Nato forces in neighbouring Poland.
A statement from Warsaw’s armed forces command said: ‘In connection with the attack by the Russian Federation’s air forces carrying out strikes on objects located in the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation has begun operating in Polish airspace.’
Plus, warehouses in the Kyiv region were hit by Russian drones and missiles, setting fire to the buildings.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said while Lutsk was the hardest hit last night, damage was also recorded in 10 other regions.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
He added: ‘Most of the targets were shot down. Our interceptor drones were used – there are dozens of hits, we are scaling up the technology.
‘Mobile fire groups were also working – we also had dozens of hits. Thank you to all the soldiers for their accuracy.
‘This is a demonstrative attack, and right now, when there have been so many attempts to achieve peace, to cease fire, and only Russia rejects everything.’
The widespread strikes come just hours after US president Donald Trump slammed Vladimir Putin’s ‘bulls***’ as peace talks have failed to progress.
Trump has also u-turned and pledged to resume sending weapons to Ukraine after the country was ‘hit very hard’ by the Kremlin’s missile and drone strikes in recent days.
Kyiv said that the vast majority of incoming strikes were destroyed by their air defences, with 303 destroyed and 415 misfired and lost due to electronic warfare.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said: ‘The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Defence Forces of Ukraine.’
Lutsk suffered its worst attacks of the war, including the use of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Ihor Polishchuk, the city’s mayor, said: ‘Today was the most mass enemy attack with the use of UAVs and missiles on our city and community.
‘Fortunately, at this minute there is no information about the dead as a result of the enemy attack.
‘Let’s give thanks to God! Our honour, respect and gratitude to the Air Defence Forces.’
Mr Zelensky reiterated his belief that only the toughest sanctions will force Putin to take ceasefire and peace talks seriously.
He explained: ‘Painful sanctions against oil, which has been pumping money into Moscow’s war machine for over three years of war.
‘Secondary sanctions against those who buy this oil and sponsor the killings.
‘Our [Western] partners know how to put pressure on Russia so that it will be forced to think about ending the war, not new strikes. Anyone who wants peace must act.’
Ukraine also hit Russia with limited strikes overnight, some of which led to the temporary closure of Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports in Moscow.
Military targets in the Kursk border region were also hit, with Russia reporting two women were injured.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.