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Two airports in southeastern Poland temporarily suspended flight operations on Saturday as a precaution following Russian strikes on nearby Ukrainian territory, Polish authorities said.
Poland’s Air Navigation Services Agency said on X that operations at the airports in Rzeszow and Lublin were halted to ensure the free operation of military aviation. Both cities are located close to the Polish-Ukrainian border, with Rzeszow serving as NATO’s main logistics hub for arms supplies to Ukraine.
Poland’s Operational Command of the Armed Forces said military aviation had begun operating in Polish airspace due to Russian strikes on Ukraine. The command said the measures were preventive and aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in regions adjacent to areas facing threats.
Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said the closure involved NATO aircraft operating in the area. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration also issued a notice to airmen, saying both airports were inaccessible due to military activity related to ensuring state security.
Authorities noted that the same airports were temporarily closed last month during military aviation operations, which were described at the time as routine and posing no threat to Polish airspace.
The airport closures came as Russia resumed large-scale missile and drone strikes on major Ukrainian cities, ending a brief pause agreed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched its largest attack of the year so far, involving about 70 missiles and 450 drones, targeting energy facilities across at least six regions, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said tens of thousands of people were left without heat as temperatures dropped below minus 20 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. In Kyiv alone, more than 1,100 apartment buildings were without power, and residents sheltered overnight in metro stations.
Ukrainian officials said the attacks followed a week-long pause requested by Trump, during which Russia refrained from striking major cities and energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of using the pause to stockpile weapons rather than support diplomacy.
The renewed strikes came as U.S., Ukrainian and Russian officials were again meeting in Abu Dhabi to discuss elements of a potential peace plan. White House officials said negotiations would proceed despite the escalation.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was waiting for a U.S. response to the attacks, noting that the pause on energy strikes had been proposed by Washington during ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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