Poland and Romania raised air force due to massive missile attack on Ukraine

In connection with the russian strike on Western Ukraine on the night of November 19, Poland has involved allied forces in the air. Fighter jets and a specialized aircraft for radar surveillance were raised into the sky. Two Eurofighter Typhoon fighters and two F-16s were also raised from an air base in Romania due to the approach of a drone. This was reported by the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces on the social network X and Agerpres with reference to the Ministry of National Defense of Romania.

An air alert was declared in Western Ukraine due to the threat of a russian missile strike. Messages from the Ukrainian Air Force about danger and explosions in the western regions began to appear after 5:00 am.

"Attention. In connection with the attack of the russian federation, which is carrying out strikes on objects located on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation is operating in our airspace. Another pair of fighter jets and an early radar surveillance aircraft have been launched," the Polish Armed Forces said in a statement.

It is noted that Poland's ground-based air defense and radio detection systems, as well as long-range reconnaissance systems, have been brought to maximum readiness.

The press service of the Polish Army reports that these actions "are preventive in nature and are aimed at ensuring the security of airspace and its protection," and this especially applies to areas adjacent to regions under threat.

"The operational command of the Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and subordinate forces and means remain ready for immediate response," the Armed Forces emphasized.

Eurofighter Typhoon fighters took off from the Romanian Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase at 00:25 am to carry out enhanced airspace patrols during russian strikes on Ukraine.

The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) sent a RO-ALERT air alert to the population of the northern part of Tulcea County at 00:20 am. Within a few minutes, a drone signal was detected, which entered approximately 8 km of Romanian airspace - from the Ukrainian Vilkovo to the Romanian Periprava and Cilia-Veche, where it disappeared from radar.

"The drone periodically appeared on the radar for approximately 12 minutes - from Colibasi in the Republic of Moldova towards Folteşti in Galați County (Romania - ed.), and later near the settlement of Oancea in the Republic of Moldova," the message says.

At 00:59 am, an air alert was also declared in the northern part of Galați County. After that, two more F-16 fighters of the Romanian Air Force from the 71st Air Base "General Emanuil Ionescu" took to the sky.

At about 01:50 am, the Eurofighters returned to the air base, and the F-16s at about 02:30 am.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on the morning of November 19, russia attacked Ukraine for the second time, launching cruise missiles from Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers. Dozens of enemy targets were recorded in the air, and an air alert was declared throughout the country. In addition, the russians again took to the sky MiG-31Ks - carriers of Kinzhal missiles.

Russia again struck Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which led to the introduction of emergency power outages in several regions on November 19.