LONDON -- NATO fighter jets were scrambled and air defense systems put on alert in Poland in response to Russia's latest overnight drone and missile strikes in Ukraine, the Armed Forces Operational Command in Warsaw said in a series of social media posts."Fighter jets have been scrambled and ground-based air defense systems as well as radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of readiness," the command said in a post to X. "These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened regions," it added.The alert lasted for just under four hours, after which the command said the fighters and air defense systems had "returned to standard operational activities." No violations of Polish airspace were observed, a follow-up post to X said.This file photo shows a Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jet during the 62nd NATO Tiger Meet Drill at Antonio Ramirez air base in Gioia del Colle, Italy, on Oct.9, 2023.Anadolu via Getty ImagesPutin vows to take Ukraine's eastern region as top US and Ukrainian prepare to meetThe Spanish and Czech air forces were involved in the response, the command said, as were German and Dutch air defense systems.Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles -- 17 of them ballistic missiles -- into the country overnight.
The air force said 585 drones and 30 missiles were shot down or suppressed.Drone and missile impacts were reported across 29 locations, the air force said.The attack -- which consisted of 704 air attack weapons -- was Russia's largest overnight bombardment since it launched 705 munitions on the night of Oct.29, according to Ukrainian air force data analyzed by ABC News.The largest attack of the war to date took place on the night of Sept.
6 and involved 823 air attack vehicles.The latest overnight attack is only the fourth of Russia's full-scale invasion to date in which the number of air attack vehicles used surpassed...