Several missiles struck Ukraine early Monday morning. Cities in the west of the country, close to the border with Poland, were affected. The Polish army took off its fighter planes in response to these attacks.
A series of violent strikes hit the whole of Ukraine very early on Sunday November 17. This is “one of the biggest” air attacks launched by Russia, said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Andrii Sybiha. The capital kyiv was hit, as well as the city of Zaporizhia, in the southeast of the country, the port of Odessa on the Black Sea, and Mykolaiv in the south. Air alerts were given to the population, a large part of which was probably sleeping at the time of the attacks, before six in the morning. These strikes come two days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by telephone with Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years.
The Ukrainian energy operator, DTEK, announced on Telegram “emergency power cuts” in the kyiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko denounced a “massive attack” on the country’s electricity system. These power cuts come as Ukraine goes through its third winter at war.
In all, 120 missiles and 90 drones were allegedly sent by Russia, as Volodymyr Zelensky denounced on Telegram. He speaks of a “terrorist” attack by Russia on Ukrainian territory. According to the latest report at the end of Sunday morning, eight people lost their lives in these attacks, including two women and two railway workers. Six people were also injured, including two children. Material damage is also to be deplored, whether to infrastructure, houses, buildings and cars.
For its part, Russia denounced strikes in the Belgorod region. Several drones were reportedly launched by kyiv, but most were shot down.
Poland’s involvement
Russia’s strikes hit areas particularly close to the border with Poland. The Zhytomyr and Lviv regions were affected, which worried the NATO member country. The Polish military command center announced, at 6:05 a.m., the takeoff of fighter planes. “The measures taken aim to ensure security in areas bordering threatened areas,” assures the army. This maneuver seems to have only been preventive, Poland having recalled its planes at the end of the morning. “Thanks to the end of Russian strikes against targets in Ukraine, military aviation operations in Polish airspace have come to an end and deployed forces and resources have resumed normal operational activities,” announced on X the command of the Polish army.