Warsaw

The Polish Army on Friday (Dec 29) claimed that a Russian missile passed through the country's airspace as Moscow launched its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began in February last year. 

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General Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the general staff of the Polish armed forces confirmed that the missile briefly entered the Polish airspace before getting redirected towards Ukraine. 

"Everything indicates that a Russian missile entered Polish airspace. It also left our airspace. We have national and allied radar confirmation," Kukula told reporters. 

Although the missile was in Polish airspace for only three minutes, it was sufficient for the army to raise its defence preparedness. According to armed forces spokesman Jacek Goryszewski, the jets were scrambled in the direction of the missile in response to the violation of the airspace. 

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"We sent our forces, fighter jets, to intercept it and shoot it down if necessary but the duration and the flight path... made this impossible and allowed the missile to leave Polish territory," said Maciej Klisz, the operational commander of the Polish army. 

According to Klisz, the Polish air defence systems were put on alert soon after Russia launched a mega drone and missile onslaught on Ukraine, earlier in the day. 

After the intrusion, Polish President Andrzej Duda dialled NATO chief Jen Stoltenberg and had a conversation over the incident. 

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Notably, in November 2022, a Ukrainian air defence missile fell in the Polish village of Przewodow near the border, killing two civilians.

Watch | Russia-Ukraine war: Can Zelensky stop the Russian assault

Russia's onslaught on Ukraine

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had initiated one of the biggest air attacks on it by using 'everything' in its arsenal as the death toll rose to 18 while over 100 remained wounded. 

"Today Russia hit us with almost everything it has in its arsenal," Zelensky wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Zelensky said Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia among other cities were targeted in the attacks. He added that Russia used its S-300 missile system, cruise missiles and UAVs. 

Also read | Russia unleashes biggest aerial attack on Ukraine, killing 18; Zelensky says 'they hit us with everything'

"Strategic bombers launched X-101/X-505. Approximately 110 missiles were fired, most of which were shot down," he added. 

According to reports, the Russian military aimed to overwhelm Ukraine's air defences across the major cities by launching wave after wave of Shahed attack drones. 

(With inputs from agencies)