Blasts shake key Ukrainian cities, Poland scrambles air force after Russian missile attack

KYIV - Blasts shook Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other cities while neighbouring Poland scrambled its air force early on Nov 17 after the two countries said a Russian missile attack was under way.

“Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft have started operating in our airspace,” the operational command of Nato member Poland’s armed forces posted on X.

It said it had “activated all available forces and resources at his disposal, the on-duty fighter pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness”.

Blasts were heard in Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia and the Black Sea port of Odesa, Reuters witnesses said, and Ukraine’s air force issued air raid alerts for all of the country, although the scale of the attack was unclear.

The air force urged residents to take cover and said a number of missiles, including different types of cruise missile, were flying through Ukrainian air space.

Ukrainian officials said they had cut power to a number of regions, including Kyiv, as a preventative step.

The missile attack followed an overnight drone strike on Ukraine’s capital. The roof of a residential building caught fire due to falling debris and at least one person was injured, city officials said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Emergency services were dispatched to the scene,” Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Ukraine has been on alert for weeks, fearing a major Russian missile attack as winter sets in. Previous attacks have targeted the power grid and caused sweeping blackouts.

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