Major alert as Putin fires Russian cruise missile over NATO territory

A Russian cruise missile flew over territory for 39 seconds overnight triggering a major alert amid fears over an escalation of the war in .

Allied war planes scrambled to 'ensure the security' of Polish airspace after the incursion at 4.23am local time.

The Polish armed forces confirmed the incident in a statement on X, saying: 'There was a violation of Polish airspace by one of the cruise missiles launched overnight by long-range aviation of the Russian Federation.