Following Russian attacks on Ukraine, NATO member Poland claimed it scrambled aircraft early on Sunday to safeguard its air safety.
Ukrainian officials reported that missiles and drones were falling on the Lviv region near the Polish border.In an X post, Poland's operations command stated, "Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness."
Eastern flank NATO members are on high alert following the September shooting down of suspected Russian drones in Polish airspace, as well as the turmoil in European aviation caused by drone sightings and air incursions, especially in Copenhagen and Munich.
Following warnings of a potential flight of balloons approaching the airport late on Saturday, Lithuania's Vilnius airport was closed for many hours overnight.
Early on Sunday, commercial flights were following routes usually used when Poland's Lublin and Rzeszow airports near the Ukrainian border were blocked, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24. The Flightradar24 story could not be independently verified by Reuters.
The US Federal Aviation Administration's website did not immediately post any alerts regarding potential flight disruptions in Lublin and Rzeszow.
However, the "Ukraine situation" has caused significant delays in Polish. managed airspace, according to Eurocontrol, which is in charge of European air traffic control.
After hours of air raid alarms and warnings of drone and missile assaults, Ukraine's Air Force declared at 0300 GMT that all of the country was at risk of new Russian missile attacks.
The mayor of Lviv, a city in western Ukraine located roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Polish border, Andriy Sadovyi, said missiles were on their way to the city after air defense systems had already been extensively involved in thwarting a Russian drone strike.
The hammering of what sounded like operational air defense systems occurred from all directions, according to Reuters witnesses.
Russia did not respond, and there were no immediate reports of any damage.
