NATO scrambles warplanes in Poland as Putin uses nuke-capable strategic bombers to pound neighbouring Ukraine

Source: Daily Mail

Date: February 25, 2025

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NATO was forced to scramble its warplanes in Poland today as Vladimir Putin used strategic bombers and missiles to attack neighbouring Ukraine - even as Vladimir Putin insists he wants peace 'as soon as possible'.

Putin's air force deployed Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers to pound targets across Ukraine, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy, as well as in several towns across the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Drones were also used by Russia, with several people reportedly suffering injuries.

Warsaw's armed forces operation command headquarters ordered NATO jets to patrol Polish airspace as Russian bombers and missiles soared over Ukraine amid fears they could approach the Polish border.

'Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland,' the command headquarters said. 

Ground-based air defences and radar reconnaissance systems were also 'put on alert'.

It comes just one day after a US B-52 bomber flew a sortie less than 50 miles from the Russian border in a show of strength on the third anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.

The B-52 jet, which is described as providing the US with 'immediate nuclear and conventional global strike capability', flew from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to the frontline NATO state and was flanked by F35s and F-A18 fighters.

The planes jetted in formation over soldiers and tanks as a military parade of over 1,000 troops from NATO and the Estonia's Defense Forces took place in the Estonian capital of Tallinn.

February 24 marked three years since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, and is also Estonian Independence Day. The Baltic state has been a member of NATO for 21 years.

The three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion yesterday arrived at a sensitive moment for Kyiv as Volodymyr Zelensky navigates a rapidly changing international environment upended by Donald Trump's major shift of US policy and warming relations with Moscow.

Recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomacy with US and Russian delegates pressing on with ceasefire negotiations designed to bring about a swift end to the conflict. 

But these negotiations have been held in the absence of Ukrainian representatives. 

Washington has therefore been accused of freezing Ukraine out of negotiations with Russia, with Trump last week justifying doing so by wrongly calling Zelensky 'a dictator without elections' - despite votes only being halted in the war-torn country due to martial law.

Then yesterday, the US sided with Russia in two votes at the United Nations to avoid condemnation of Moscow's campaign against Ukraine, signalling a seismic shift away from decades of Western cooperation regarding Russia. 

'The US is taking a much more balanced position which is really aimed at trying to resolve the Ukraine conflict. We welcome this,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Ukrainian President Zelensky meanwhile continues campaigning for a favourable peace deal for his nation.

Perhaps recognising Trump's apparent distaste for his presidency, on Sunday he said was willing to step down in exchange for Ukraine's entry into NATO or other security guarantees.

But Vladimir Putin will only end the Ukraine war when there is a deal that 'suits' Russia, its foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov accused Europe and the UK of prolonging the fighting in response to a fresh package of sanctions levelled by Brussels - hours before Russian bombers began pounding Ukraine early this morning.

A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada descended on Ukraine's capital to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion yesterday, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

But Donald Trump opted to remain in Washington as he hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House. 

Macron told his American counterpart that 'peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine', as Trump prepares to host Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday.