Sweeping Russian Air Attack Hits Ukraine, Poland on High Alert

The attacks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a military parade in Beijing to mark the end of World War Two, at which Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that the world faces a choice between peace and war.

Air raid alerts sounded for hours across Ukraine, with explosions heard in nine of its 24 regions, from Kyiv to Lviv and Volyn in the west, Ukrainian officials and media said.

Ukraine’s western neighbour and NATO member Poland activated its own and allied aircraft to ensure safety, its armed forces command said.

“The Russian Federation once again is carrying out strikes on targets located on the territory of Ukraine,” the operational command said in a post on X.

Four railway workers in Ukraine’s central region of Kirovohrad were in hospital after the Russian attack, Ukraine’s state-owned railway said on the Telegram messaging app, warning of delays to scores of services caused by damage to rail facilities.

Five people were injured and 28 houses damaged in a Russian attack on the Znamianka community in the region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine’s emergency services said on Telegram.

Public transport in the western city of Khmelnytskyi faced “significant schedule disruptions” after the attack, its administration said on Telegram, with the regional governor flagging fires and damage to residential buildings among others.

There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes in the war Russia launched with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.