Russia fired 597 drones and decoys, along with 26 cruise missiles, into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 319 drones and 25 cruise missiles were shot down and 258 decoy drones were lost,

Poland's scrambling of aircraft comes amid heightened tensions across the alliance's eastern flank over Russia's aggression. It follows another NATO member, Romania, announcing it would implement an Iron Dome defense system similar to that used by Israel.

Moscow has ordered the closure of Poland’s Consulate in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in a tit-for-tat move as relations between the countries remain strained over a Warsaw fire that Poland alleges was Russian sabotage.

In another deadly escalation of its invasion, Russia launched a powerful overnight barrage of missiles and drones on western Ukraine, killing at least two people and wounding over a dozen more. The strikes targeted Chernivtsi,

NATO is deploying F-35s over Poland to deter Russian threats near Ukraine's border. The mission is the first F-35 operation there under NATO command.

Poland and the Baltic states also withdrew from the Ottawa Convention despite pleas from some leaders to maintain decorum in the face of Russian aggression.

Paweł Wroński, the spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that Warsaw will prepare an "adequate" response to Russia’s decision to close the Polish consulate in Kaliningrad from 29 August,

WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland will respond to Russia's closure of the Polish consulate in Kaliningrad in an 'adequate' manner, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pawel Wronski said on Friday.

On the one hand, NATO and US forces guarantee security against the Russian threat, but this "protection" has its price: limiting Poland's sovereignty and its ability to make independent strategic decisions.