NATO fighters and an early warning aircraft were deployed over eastern Europe early today as Russia launched a significant bombardment of Ukraine. This escalation coincided with reports of renewed discussions between the US and Moscow, as well as separate talks with Ukraine aimed at negotiating a peace deal.

Russia's latest offensive involved missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, resulting in at least 46 injuries in Kharkiv, including children aged nine and 13. In Ternopil, multiple strikes hit a residential tower block, leading to at least two fatalities. Eyewitnesses reported choking smoke enveloping the city following the attacks.

Poland’s armed forces operational commander stated, "Due to the Russian Federation's attack on targets located in Ukrainian territory, Polish and allied air forces are operating in our airspace. Duty fighter pairs and an early warning aircraft have been scrambled, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest level of alert. These actions are preventative in nature and aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened areas."

A NATO E-3A aircraft, equipped with an Airborne Warning and Control System, was observed monitoring Russian drone and missile activities over Ukrainian airspace. This surge in Russian attacks followed Ukraine's unprecedented use of four US-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles targeting Voronezh, with Moscow claiming all were intercepted, though doubts remain about the veracity of these claims.

The bombardments coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's arrival in Ankara for discussions with Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Reports indicate ongoing behind-the-scenes negotiations for a peace agreement involving Witkoff and Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, which has resulted in a 28-point plan addressing peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, and future US relations with both Russia and Ukraine.

In Ternopil, the strike on a residential building has been condemned by Ukrainian sources as a "deliberate war crime." Mayor Serhiy Nadal reported a desperate rescue operation underway after the building was reduced to rubble. He stated, "There is no military sense in hitting residential areas in this city. It is obvious that this was done deliberately to kill as many sleeping people as possible."

As temperatures fell below zero, power and heating outages were reported. Telegram channel Nevzerov remarked, "The only thing Russians know how to do 'well' is bomb, explode, and kill." Strikes also targeted the Burshtyn Thermal Power Plant in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, injuring two children.

In Kharkiv, Russian forces attacked 16 apartment buildings, vehicles, and civilian enterprises using Shahed drones. Lviv also faced missile and drone strikes, resulting in explosions and fires, with a warehouse reported ablaze and subsequent power outages.

Dmytro Lubinets, from Ukraine’s human rights commission, stated, "Russia has once again shown that its goal is destruction and death. Overnight the aggressor country struck Ukraine again. Kharkiv - 46 injured, including two children. Fires, destroyed houses, completely burned-out entrances. Lviv and Ternopil are also under attack. In Ternopil, an entire residential building lost its upper floors - where people were peacefully sleeping at that moment. The aggressor is not stopped by statements, appeals, or formal condemnations. Only concrete actions can stop it."

In response, Ukraine targeted the Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region and closed airports, including Gelendzhik, near Putin’s largest palace. In the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, over half a million people were left without power, prompting a state of emergency following Ukrainian strikes.