WW3 fears explode as NATO scrambles war planes after savage Russian missile attack

NATO was forced to scramble warplanes close to Ukraine's borders amid savage new Russian missile and drone strikes. The horror attacks coincided with Donald Trump meeting President Xi Jinping of China, with the US president saying they would work together to end the war.

But Vladimir Putin showed no sign of any desire to stop with war. The ravaging onslaught led to power cuts in all regions of Ukraine as Russia seeks to disrupt electricity and heating supplies as winter approaches.

There were dead and wounded from the Putin bombardment, with six children - three boys and three girls - among 13 injured in Zaporizhzhia with more people feared buried under the rubble of a civilian dormitory.

Russia unleashed its strategic bombers in one of the year's most intense strikes which included Kinzhal - or Dagger - hypersonic missiles as well as Kalibrs and Iskanders.

NATO fighters in Poland were scrambled amid the "highest state of alert" in border regions.

"Due to the Russian Federation's attack on targets located in Ukrainian territory, Polish and allied air forces have begun operating in our airspace," said Warsaw's operational command.

"The Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces has activated all available forces and resources at his disposal.

"Duty fighter pairs and an early warning aircraft have been scrambled, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest level of alert.

"These operations are preventative in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened areas.

"The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and subordinate forces and resources remain ready to respond immediately."

A day earlier it was revealed Poland had scrambled two fighters to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 turboprop-powered reconnaissance aircraft with its transponder turned off.

Two Polish MiG-29s "successfully intercepted, visually identified, and escorted" the Russian spy plane.

The Russian attacks across Ukraine appeared timed to coincide with the Trump-Xi talks in South Korea, showing Putin's determination to carry on with a war that has now lasted 1,345 days.

Trump said he and Xi would work together to halt the fighting, an aim Putin appears intent on derailing.

"Ukraine came up very strongly," he said.

"We talked about it for a long time. And we're both going to work together to see if we can get something done. We agreed the sides are locked in, fighting, and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess. Crazy.

"But he's going to help us and we're going to work together on Ukraine.We're going to work together to try and get the war with Russia and Ukraine solved."

The move - if confirmed by China - would be significant because Russia obtains key war supplies from Beijing, which also buys oil from Moscow in large quantities.

Putin's forces in a giant combined strike his oil and gas facilities while also targeting railways.

Thermal power plants, vital for heating homes and workplaces in winter, were struck as were hydroelectric stations and substations.

The Ladyzhynska thermal power plant in Vinnytsia region was among several energy facilities targeted during frenzied Russian overnight attacks. In Burshtyn, in western Ivano-Frankivsk region, water and heating was cut.

It comes amid NATO forces shot down a drone close to a military base occupied by US forces in Estonia. The facility Camp Reedo is less than 30 miles from the Russian border.

Two drones were spotted, and one was shot down. The incident occurred on October 17 but was only recently revealed.

"Allies detected drones flying in the immediate vicinity of the 2nd Infantry Brigade's military base at 16:30 on October 17, one of which was brought down with an anti-drone rifle," said Liis Vaksmann, a spokesperson for the Estonian Defence Forces headquarters.

Last month, three Russian MiG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland and remained for 12 minutes.