NATO on Friday announced plans to beef up the defense of Europe’s eastern flank, two days after Poland shot down drones that had breached its airspace in the first known action by a member of the Western alliance during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Poland says the drone incursions are an attempt by Russia to test the capabilities of Poland and NATO to respond.
Earlier on Friday, Warsaw rejected Donald Trump’s suggestion that the incursions could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction from one of Washington’s closest European allies of the U.S. president.
Russia said its forces had been attacking Ukraine when drone violated Polish airspace and it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland.
But NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called the incursion: ” reckless and unacceptable. We can’t have Russian drones entering allied airspace,” he said at a press conference, announcing operation “Eastern Sentry”.
The mission, which begins on Friday evening, will involve a range of assets integrating air and ground bases.
NATO’s top military official, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, a U.S. Air Force general, said the alliance would defend every inch of its territory.
Speaking at the same press conference, Grynkewich said Eastern Sentry was designed as a flexible operation to bolster defenses along NATO’s entire eastern flank, from the Baltic states in the north to Romania and Bulgaria in the south.
NATO allies Denmark, France, Britain and Germany have committed to the mission with others set to join, Rutte said, adding that NATO was still assessing the possible intent behind the incursion.
Responding to Trump’s comment on Thursday that the incursion could have been an accident, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” he said on X.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin was “sort of running out and running out fast”, but stopped short of threatening new sanctions over the war.
European leaders say the drone incursion demonstrates Moscow has no interest in a peace deal in Ukraine, weeks after Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and dropped a demand that Russia accept an immediate ceasefire.
Finally… Romanian president reveals Russia has targeted Romania with hybrid attacks for 10 years
