In the wee hours of 12 July, Russia struck the west-Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi. East-Ukrainian Kharkiv was also affected.

The attack comes one day after Russia’s record aerial missile attack on Kyiv as President Zelenskyy warns that Russia is ramping up its capacities to launch up to 1000 Shahed kamikaze drones at Ukraine daily.

The attack involved 597 drones (339 of them were Shahed kamikaze drones, the rest — imitator drones) and 26 cruise missiles, the air force reported. 319 Shaheds and 25 cruise missiles were reported downed.

The drone attack lasted 11 hours, while the missile attack started at 3:34 and lasted 1.5 hours, according to the monitor TG channel.

A 26-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man were killed in Chernivtsi due to falling drone wreckage, which has seen relatively few attacks since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Lviv, another relatively safe haven, has also come under the brunt of Russia’s escalating attacks. 46 buildings were damaged, and 500 windows smashed in an attack that also damaged the Lviv Polytechnic University.

A private house was destroyed in Lviv; cars also suffered damage.

Poland scrambles jets, but no help to Ukraine

The attack forced Poland to scramble its military aircraft overnight, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command reported.

Poland has previously scrambled its jets in response to Russia’s attacks on western Ukraine, as it is standard procedure for Poland’s military to scramble jets and increase the readiness of air defense systems when “there is a danger of Russian air strikes on western Ukraine and potential assumptions that [the] border of Poland might be impacted.|

Throughout the war, Russian missiles and attack drones have repeatedly infringed the airspace of Romania, Latvia, Poland, and other NATO members, with Ukraine asking EU and NATO ministers in late August 2024 to start shooting down Russian missiles and drones heading toward NATO over Ukraine.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has stated that his and other countries have a duty to intercept Russian missiles before they enter NATO territory, though NATO maintains it “will not become a party to the conflict.”