Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Polish authorities temporarily closed two airports, Lublin and Rzeszow, after NATO activated fighter jets to secure Polish airspace following the escalation of Russian attacks in Ukraine.
The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command stated that military aviation operations, including patrols by NATO aircraft in Polish airspace, had been suspended and both airports were now returning to normal operations.
However, authorities confirmed that there was no violation of Polish airspace during the incident.
“Military flight operations in our airspace related to the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine have been completed,” wrote the Polish Operational Command via the X platform, quoted by Reuters, Saturday (7/2/2026).
“Ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have returned to standard operational activities,” he added.
The authorities also expressed their appreciation to NATO and the German Air Force for helping to maintain the security of Polish skies. The closure of the airport is preventive and aims to secure the airspace adjacent to the conflict area.
Ukraine Says Russia Launched 400 Drones-40 Missiles
For information, both airports are close to the Ukrainian border. Rzeszow Airport is known as NATO’s main center for the distribution of arms aid to Ukraine.
Poland’s security measures come as Russia launched one of its biggest airstrikes against Ukraine since the start of the year.
Still citing Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that his party launched more than 400 drones and around 40 missiles of various types targeting electricity generation facilities, distribution networks and substations in various regions of Ukraine.
“Every day, Russia could choose real diplomacy, but they choose new attacks,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media X.
According to him, the attack further worsened the condition of Ukraine’s energy sector, which was already stressed by war damage and extreme winter weather. Temperatures in a number of areas are expected to drop to minus 14 degrees Celsius in the next few days.
“It is very important for everyone who supports trilateral negotiations to respond to this. Moscow must lose the ability to use cold weather as leverage against Ukraine,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that 2 thermal power plants in the western region of Ukraine were the targets of attacks, including important elements of the national electricity distribution network.
“Russian criminals carried out another massive attack on Ukrainian energy facilities,” Shmyhal said on the Telegram app.
The government also implemented emergency power outages in a number of areas and asked Poland to provide emergency electricity imports to support Ukraine’s electricity system.
“Energy workers are ready to start repair work as soon as the security situation allows,” he added.
On the other hand, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, reported significant damage to its thermal power generation facilities. This attack is said to be the 10th against DTEK assets since October 2025.
In western regions of Ukraine, including Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk, air warning sirens reportedly sounded for more than six hours.
Several major power plants such as Burshtyn and Dobrotvir were also reported to be directly affected.
“Because Russia has targeted energy facilities in different regions of our country, the power outages will probably last longer,” said Maksym Kozytskyi, Lviv regional governor.
Meanwhile, the Polish Air Navigation Authority and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) previously issued warnings to pilots regarding the temporary closure of Lublin and Rzeszow airports due to military activity. After the situation was declared safe, both airports reopened.
(dce)
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date:2026-02-07 15:00:00