With Russian missiles and drones raining down on Ukrainian cities and NATO carrying out massive drills along the eastern front, Europe was on edge Wednesday after Polish fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian rocket that appeared bound for Poland before it struck inside Ukrainian territory.

Three Polish F-16 warplanes were deployed Wednesday morning after a Russian missile was detected on a trajectory for Poland before falling inside Ukraine about 12 miles from the Polish border, according to news reports.

The missile was part of the latest massive Russian barrage against Ukrainian targets and cities. The attacks knocked out electricity in parts of Kyiv, killed at least five people and wounded more than 30, and exposed Ukraine's weakening air defenses.

The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, was in the city discussing military and financial help for Ukraine and said he started his day in an air raid shelter.

For people in the European Union, the scrambling of Polish F-16s highlighted the high state of alarm in the bloc as the Ukraine war rages on nearly two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian troops have been killed and wounded in a war that has left Ukraine depopulated and in ruins.

This winter, the mood in Europe has sharply darkened because the war has taken a turn for the worse for Ukrainian troops and its Western allies. Numerous reports indicate that Russian forces, supported by far superior artillery power, may be on the verge of breaking through key Ukrainian defensive lines and there are fears Russia will launch a major offensive in the coming weeks or months.