Russian strikes across Ukraine kill 9 and NATO scrambles jets after a missile falls in Poland

Russian air strikes killed at least 13 people in Ukraine, including one in Kyiv, in attacks extending as far as the western city of Lviv, forcing neighboring Poland to scramble fighter jets to secure its airspace.

KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian ballistic missile and drone barrage across Ukraine overnight killed at least eight civilians, including children, and injured more than 50 others, officials said Thursday, and NATO scrambled its warplanes after one of the missiles crossed into Poland.

The blitz expanded Russia’s almost daily bombardment of Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv where tens of thousands spent the night sheltering in subway stations, as Moscow apparently looked to exploit Kyiv’s critical shortage of Western-supplied anti-ballistic missile defenses.

NATO said a Russian missile entered Polish airspace during the onslaught and landed in a rural area. It caused no injuries or damage but could deepen tensions between the military alliance and Moscow, as wary European countries fear the 4-year-old war could spill into their territory.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called it “a very serious incident,” but added: “There are absolutely no reasons to believe that Poland was the target.”

Russia’s barrage struck areas of Ukraine where weapons are believed to be stored and manufactured. Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles have battered Russia’s oil sector, causing a fuel crisis.