Russia rains drones and missiles on Ukraine, Poland scrambles aircraft

LVIV, Ukraine, October 6 ------ NATO member Poland said it scrambled aircraft early to ensure its air safety after Russia launched airstrikes on Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials reporting missiles and drones raining down on the Lviv region near the Polish border.

"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness," Poland's operational command said in a post on X.

Eastern-flank NATO members are on high alert after Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace in September, and drone sightings and air incursions, including in Copenhagen and Munich, have led to chaos in European aviation. Lithuania's airport in Vilnius was closed for several hours overnight after reports of a possible series of balloons heading towards the airport late on Saturday.

According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, early on Sunday, commercial flights were using routings typically used when Poland's Lublin and Rzeszów airports near the border with Ukraine were closed. Reuters could not independently verify the Flightradar24 report. There were no immediate notices on the US Federal Aviation Administration's website about possible flight disruptions in Rzeszów and Lublin.

Source: gmanetwork.com