NATO has been forced to deploy its warplanes in Poland, following another Russian assault on Ukraine.
The airstrikes, using nuclear-capable strategic bombers, caused chaos in Kyiv as locals fled to underground shelters. Drones were also used, leaving several people injured. Explosions were heard in the capital, as well as Zhytomyr, Sumy and surrounding regions as the attacks reportedly carried on into the morning.
At least two of the Tu-95MS bombers were said to have left the Olenya Russian air base in the Arctic, while air defences on the ground and radar reconnaissance systems were also “put on alert”.
The latest attack came despite Vladimir Putin previously stating he wanted peace “as soon as possible” amid negotiations with the White House, the Mirror reports.
NATO responded with a defensive action amid fears Russia was launching missiles near to the border with Poland, which is a member state.
An alert from Warsaw’s armed forces operation command headquarters said: “Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland.”
The US shocked European allies on Sunday night after it refused to hold Russia accountable for its war on Ukraine in votes on three United Nations resolutions. It follows Donald Trump’s decision to begin direct negotiations with Russia on ending the conflict, while excluding Ukraine and Europe by excluding them from initial discussions last week.
In the UN General Assembly, both the US and Russia voted against a Europe-supported Ukrainian resolution which calls out aggression from Russia and demands an immediate withdrawal of its troops. The US went on to abstain from voting on its own competing resolution after European countries, led by France, were successful in amending it to make it clear Russia was the aggressor.
The votes took place on the third anniversary of the war, as Trump hosted French President Emmanuel Macron.