NATO Scrambles Jets as Russia Launches Massive Strikes on Ukraine

NATO fighter jets were scrambled and air defense systems put on alert in Poland in response to Russia's latest overnight drone and missile strikes in Ukraine, the Armed Forces Operational Command in Warsaw said in a series of social media posts.

"Fighter jets have been scrambled and ground-based air defense systems as well as radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of readiness," the command said in a post to X.

"These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened regions," it added.

The alert lasted for just under four hours, after which the command said the fighters and air defense systems had "returned to standard operational activities." No violations of Polish airspace were observed, a follow-up post to X said.

The Spanish and Czech air forces were involved in the response, the command said, as were German and Dutch air defense systems.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles -- 17 of them ballistic missiles -- into the country overnight. The air force said 585 drones and 30 missiles were shot down or suppressed.

Drone and missile impacts were reported across 29 locations, the air force said.

The attack -- which consisted of 704 air attack weapons -- was Russia's largest overnight bombardment since it launched 705 munitions on the night of Oct. 29, according to Ukrainian air force data analyzed by ABC News.

The largest attack of the war to date took place on the night of Sept. 6 and involved 823 air attack vehicles. The latest overnight attack is only the fourth of Russia's full-scale invasion to date in which the number of air attack vehicles used surpassed 700.

Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Iho Klymenko said in a post to Telegram that 10 regions of the country came under attack, with direct hits to residential buildings, railways and energy infrastructure.

More than two dozen houses in the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr and Lviv regions were damaged, according to Klymenko.

At least three people were injured in the Kyiv region, another three people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region and two people were injured in the Lviv region, Klymenko said.

In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said an energy facility was damaged, resulting in disruptions to the supply of power and heating. Some 9,500 customers were without heating and 34,000 without water as of 9:30 a.m. local time.

There was also damage to energy infrastructure in the Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to authorities there.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said she had "convened an emergency coordination meeting" with the ministers of internal affairs and energy as well as the leadership of the state-run energy companies and all services responsible for recovery operations.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to X, "Russia continues to disregard any peace efforts and instead strikes critical civilian infrastructure, including our energy system and railways."

"This shows that no decisions to strengthen Ukraine and raise pressure on Russia can be delayed," Sybiha added. "And especially not under the pretext of peace process."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that energy facilities were "the main targets of these strikes."

"Russia’s aim is to inflict suffering on millions of Ukrainians," the president wrote. "That is exactly why additional pressure is needed. Sanctions must work, and so must our air defenses, which means we must maintain support for those defending lives."

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 121 drones on Friday night into Saturday morning.