Poland scrambled fighter jets to secure its airspace on Monday morning after neighbouring western Ukraine was hit by heavy Russian strikes.

“Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,” Warsaw’s Operational Command said in a statement on social media.

Russia struck deep beyond the front lines overnight, hitting western Ukraine with dozens of drones and missiles, according to Oleksandr Tretyak, the Rivne mayor.

Ukraine said Russia launched 479 drones and 20 missiles, which would be the war’s biggest overnight bombardment.

Russia has recently accelerated its campaign against Ukraine, dampening hopes of a ceasefire after a renewed diplomatic push to end the biggest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.

Key ally of Ukraine

Poland is one of Ukraine’s closest allies, and serves as a crucial logistics hub for Western military aid to Kyiv.

In March last year, Poland, a Nato member, reported a breach of its airspace by a Russian cruise missile, demanding an explanation from Moscow.

A similar incident occurred in December 2023, when a Russian missile penetrated Polish airspace for several minutes before returning to Ukraine.

Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, will on Monday call for a “quantum leap” in defence capacities including a “400 per cent increase” in air and missile defence that “protects” the alliance against Russia.

“We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” he will say in a speech to the Chatham House think tank in London, according to comments released in a statement.