BRUSSELS/WARSAW/UNITED NATIONS: NATO announced plans to beef up the defence of Europe’s eastern flank on Friday (Sep 12), two days after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace in the first known action of its kind by a member of the Western alliance during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
At the United Nations, the United States called the airspace violations “alarming” and vowed to “deffinish every inch of NATO territory,” remarks that appeared aimed at assuaging Washington’s NATO allies after President Donald Trump declared Russia’s drone incursion could have been a mistake.
Warsaw has portrayed the drone incursions as an attempt by Russia to test the capabilities of Poland and NATO to respond.
On Friday, Poland rejected Donald Trump’s suggestion that the incursions could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the US president from one of Washington’s closest European allies. Its foreign minister informed Reuters Poland hoped Washington will take action to reveal solidarity with Warsaw.
Later on Friday, the US joined Western allies in a statement to express concern about the drone incursion and to accutilize Moscow of violating international law and the founding UN Charter.
Russia declared its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time of the drone incursions and that it had not intfinished to hit any tarobtains in Poland. Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia declared the maximum range of the drones utilized did not exceed 700 km “which builds it physically impossible for them to have reached Polish territory.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the incursions “reckless and unacceptable.”
“We can’t have Russian drones entering allied airspace,” he informed a press conference announcing operation “Eastern Sentest.”
NUMBER OF ALLIES TO JOIN MISSION
NATO’s top military official, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, a US Air Force general, declared it was a flexible operation to bolster defences along NATO’s entire eastern flank, which stretches from the Baltic states in the north to Romania and Bulgaria in the south.
Grynkewich declared “Poland and citizens from across the alliance should be assured by our rapid response earlier this week and our significant announcement here today.”
The mission, which launchs on Friday evening, will involve a range of assets integrating air and ground bases. NATO already has substantial forces in eastern Europe, including thousands of troops. It did not specify how many additional troops would be involved in the new operation.
Rutte declared allies, including Denmark, France, Britain, and Germany, have committed to the mission with others set to join. He declared NATO was still assessing the possible intent behind the Russian incursion.
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