WARSAW, Poland (AP) 鈥 NATO said Friday it’s bulking up its defensive posture on its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with new equipment to deter potential Russian aggression following an incursion by Russian drones into Polish territory.
The alliance’s supreme commander in Europe said a new operation, dubbed Eastern Sentry, will add equipment from France, Denmark, Germany and the U.K. to its existing air and ground-based defenses. 鈥淭he key to this is an entirely new defense design,鈥 U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told reporters at the alliance鈥檚 Brussels headquarters.
French Rafale fighter jets, Danish F-16s, a frigate and ground-based defense systems have been pledged for the operation. Grynkewich said the additional resources will enable the alliance to 鈥減lug gaps in the line鈥 and concentrate forces wherever they’re needed while improving communications across NATO’s entire eastern flank.
Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down. Russia said it did not target Poland and Moscow ally Belarus said the drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders have expressed certainty that the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia. (Sept. 12, 2025)
AP VideoPoland鈥檚 Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz hailed the operation in a post on X as 鈥渁ctive deterrence and readiness to defend wherever needed.鈥
Multiple Russian drones on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns about Russia鈥檚 in neighboring Ukraine expanding.
Russia said it did not target Poland and Moscow鈥檚 ally Belarus said the drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders have expressed certainty that the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 suggestion that the drone incursion into Poland may have been a mistake.
鈥淲e would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake,鈥 Tusk wrote on X. 鈥淏ut it wasn鈥檛. And we know it.鈥
His foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, said anyone suggesting the drone incursion was accidental is a 鈥渨illing accomplice鈥 to the spreading of Russian propaganda.
Poland's Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki announced an emergency meeting with the United Nations Security Council on Friday, following an incursion by Russian drones into Polish territory. (Sept. 12, 2025)
The Canadan PressEuropean leaders announce measures to deter Russia
Earlier Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would deploy three Rafale fighters to Poland, while Britain unveiled fresh sanctions on Russia鈥檚 oil revenues and war machine.
鈥淭he security of the European continent is our top priority. We will not yield to Russia鈥檚 growing intimidation,鈥 Macron posted on X. He said the deployment was discussed with both NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The new measures announced by Britain on Friday included bans on 70 vessels that the U.K. says are part of Russia鈥檚 鈥渟hadow fleet鈥 that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions. Some 30 individuals and companies 鈥 including Chinese and Turkey-based firms 鈥 also were sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars L酶kke Rasmussen pledged expanded cooperation between the Danish and Ukrainian defense industries. Rasmussen said after talks with Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha that his country aims to increase its defense production in Ukraine and encourage more Ukrainian companies to set up shop in Denmark.
Britain stands with Kyiv
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper made her first trip to Kyiv on Friday after her appointment a week ago following a by Starmer.
Cooper said her visit is a demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine, which she said has seen a massive increase in Russian drone attacks in recent months. In July, there was a tenfold increase over the same month last year, she said.
鈥淭he UK will not stand idly by as Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine,鈥 Cooper said, noting what she said was the Russian president鈥檚 鈥渃omplete disregard for sovereignty鈥 by sending drones into NATO airspace.
鈥淚nternational action to increase economic pressure on Russia and to cut off critical cash flows which he desperately needs to pay for this illegal war is vital.鈥
Reflecting Britain’s support for Ukraine, to Kyiv where he met with wounded service members on Friday.
Sikorsky, the Polish foreign minister, was also visiting Kyiv on Friday. Sybiha posted on X that they would discuss 鈥渟hared security, Ukraine鈥檚 EU and NATO accession, and pressure on Moscow.鈥 Meanwhile, Poland’s Defense Ministry said it will work with Ukraine to train personnel on anti-drone defense.
US stands by NATO allies
奥别诲苍别蝉诲补测鈥檚 has compelled at the means at their disposal to counter any further threats.
At an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on the drone incursions, acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the “United States stands by our NATO allies in the face of these alarming airspace violations 鈥 and rest assured, we will defend every inch of NATO territory.鈥
She said Russia’s intensified bombing campaign since Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month and its violation of Polish airspace 鈥渋ntentionally or otherwise show immense disrespect for good-faith U.S. efforts to bring an end to this conflict.鈥
Speaking before the meeting, Poland鈥檚 Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said Russia鈥檚 鈥渇lagrant violation鈥 of international law and the U.N. Charter and 鈥渞eckless actions鈥 bring the region 鈥渃loser to conflict than at any time in recent years.鈥
Reading a statement on behalf of the European Union and more than half a dozen other countries, including the U.S. and U.K., Bosacki called the incursions a 鈥減rofoundly disrespectful鈥 provocation and called on Russia to immediately end its war on Ukraine.
He added that his country is pleased “so many countries recognize this threat as much as Poland does.鈥
Also Friday, Russia stoked European unease as it began a long-planned with Belarus aiming to showcase close defense ties between Moscow and Minsk, as well as Russia鈥檚 military might.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks to end the war were currently on 鈥減ause,鈥 even though channels of communication remain open.
鈥淥ne cannot simply put on rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield lightning-fast results,鈥 Peskov said. 鈥淭he Russian side remains ready to follow the path of peaceful dialogue.鈥
Ukrainian President repeated that neither promises of renewed trade nor territorial concessions will stop Russia until it realizes that its resources for waging war are depleted.
鈥淭he Russian war machine will only stop when it runs out of fuel,鈥 Zelenskyy told a conference Friday. 鈥淎nd Putin will start to stop it himself when he feels, truly, that the resources for the war are running low.鈥
Ukrainian drones strike Russian oil port
Russian air defenses downed 221 Ukrainian drones over more than a dozen Russian regions early Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The attack involved some of the highest numbers of drones reported by the Russian military, but there have been no reports of any significant damage.
A Ukrainian security official said drones struck Russia鈥檚 largest oil port on the Baltic Sea in Primorsk, including oil pumping stations conveying oil to the Ust-Luga port terminal.
The official said Primorsk is a key hub for Russia鈥檚 鈥渟hadow fleet” of sanction-busting tankers, which earn Moscow approximately $15 billion annually.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss missions. ____ Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Jill Lawless in London; John Leicester in Paris; Ilia Novikov in Kyiv and Katie Marie Davis in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.
