Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a joint air defense effort with Poland and Romania to counter Russian drones, as Moscow continues to test the strength of NATO’s alliance on its eastern flank.
Russia’s violations of NATO airspace, especially Russian drones breaching Polish territory last week, have raised fears along the alliance’s eastern flank to levels not seen since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned then that the incursions were “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II,” as Western jets engaged directly with Russian targets for the first time during the almost 3 1/2 year war in neighboring Ukraine.
Following the incursion, several European states sent reinforcements to Poland, with Britain deploying Eurofighter Typhoon jets, while NATO has announced a new Eastern Sentry operation to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank.
On Friday, Polish officials reported that two Russian fighter jets violated the safety zone of the Petrobaltic drilling platform in the Baltic Sea, an offshore drilling installation owned by Polish state-owned energy giant Orlen.
That happened hours after NATO-member Estonia reported that three Russian military jets had entered its airspace for 12 minutes. Officials called it an “unprecedentedly brazen” incurion.
Many EU officials say the increasing airspace violations by Russia are a calculated attempt by Moscow to test NATO’s defenses. Zelensky has called for a joint air defense strategy with Romania and Poland, which form the backbone part of NATO’s eastern flank.
The Ukrainian president said Saturday: “I believe it is fair to talk about a joint decision. Not only to prevent the drone from falling on the heads of Ukrainians and reaching Polish territory, but also to ensure that decisions are made together.”
“Ukraine has proven it can defend itself and Europe, but for a reliable shield, we must act together,” he wrote on X.
