Poland has officially announced that NATO forces are being deployed to the country following the violation of the treaty’s airspace by the Kremlin for the second time within a week.
The deployment, named Operation Eastern Sentry, is shrouded in secrecy but reportedly involves the dispatch of NATO troops to Polish territory. This action comes after Russia breached Romanian airspace by sending 19 drones into Poland last week, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to condemn it as an “expansion of war.”
In response to Poland’s airspace breach on Wednesday, Warsaw requested NATO to invoke Article 4 of the treaty, marking the initiation of significant NATO operations.
In a subsequent incident, Putin directed drones intended for Ukrainian targets into Romanian airspace, leading to the scrambling of F-16s by the alliance. Ukrainian President Zelensky criticized Russia’s actions, dismissing their claims of mistake and labeling it a clear escalation of war.
Romania responded by dispatching two F-16s to monitor the situation post-strikes, denouncing the breach as a new security challenge in the region. According to Bucharest’s defense ministry, a drone was detected in their airspace and tracked until it vanished near Chilia Veche village, underscoring Russia’s disregard for international law.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the Russian incursion as a reckless threat to security, emphasizing solidarity with Romania. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed that nearly 20 drones crossed the country’s borders, marking the closest proximity to conflict since WW2. NATO fighter jets from Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, and the US successfully intercepted and downed four suicide drones, with seven more drones discovered on Polish soil.
Despite the Kremlin’s denial, attempting to distance themselves from the drones, there have been insinuations that the drones may have originated from Kyiv.