Poland has temporarily closed airspace over two major eastern cities, Rzeszów and Lublin, following renewed Russian air strikes on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, highlighting the growing spillover risks of the nearly four-year-old war.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed that the airspace over both cities was marked as non-operational due to “unplanned military activity,” prompting swift action from Polish authorities. The closures came shortly after Russia launched a fresh aerial assault on Kyiv, triggering air raid alerts across the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to remain in shelters as explosions were reported across the city. Ukraine’s military administration later confirmed that at least one civilian had been killed in the ongoing attack. “One person has been killed so far as a result of the attack. The attack is continuing,” said Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, in a statement shared on Telegram.
The decision to shut down airspace in Rzeszów and Lublin underscores Poland’s heightened alertness as a frontline NATO member bordering Ukraine. Rzeszów, in particular, has emerged as a critical logistics and transit hub for military and humanitarian assistance flowing into Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
This is not the first time Poland has found itself impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war. In September, Polish forces reportedly intercepted Russian drones that violated the country’s airspace. Moscow had defended those incidents at the time, insisting the strikes were aimed at Ukraine’s military-industrial infrastructure and not Polish territory.
The Russia-Ukraine war, now approaching its fourth year, has been marked by repeated missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. While Russia maintains that it targets only military objectives, Ukrainian authorities and international observers have consistently reported civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.
As hostilities continue to intensify, Poland’s latest airspace closure reflects growing regional security concerns and the fragile balance faced by neighboring countries as the conflict shows no signs of abating.