Poland on Thursday activated air-raid sirens in two eastern regions and scrambled military aircraft after Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on western Ukraine, close to the Polish border.

Emirate 98.5 FM Internship Reporters; Lawal Shakirat, Ruqayya Suleiman and Abdulsalam Balikis, gathered that residents of the Lubelskie and Podkarpackie regions were urged to seek shelter and follow instructions from emergency authorities. Some schools evacuated pupils to basements and other safe areas, while government offices in Lublin and Rzeszow were also evacuated.

Polish military aircraft were deployed after a Russian jet-powered drone approached the border. According to Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command, the drone crashed or was shot down about four kilometres inside Ukrainian territory.

Polish authorities said there was no violation of Polish airspace. Airports in Rzeszow and Lublin were temporarily closed to civilian flights to allow military operations, but were later reopened after the alert was lifted.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the attack on western Ukraine as massive and serious, saying a petrol station near the border was believed to have been hit.

Poland has since strengthened its airspace protection, increasing the deployment of F-16 fighter jets and helicopters and reinforcing its air-defence and rapid-response systems.

The incident comes days after other Russian drone attacks near the Poland-Ukraine border, with Warsaw also tightening security around border crossings.