BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO has focused on trying to deter an attack on its own territory and avoid all-out war with nuclear armed Russia. Now the time has come for NATO to defend itself, and European allies might have to do it alone, experts and leaders say.
As it has attacked Ukraine, Russia has Kyiv鈥檚 European backers. Warplanes and ships have breached NATO airspace and waters. Transport and communications networks have been sabotaged in . Disinformation have sought to undermine support and weaken unity. Putin opponents have been in Europe in the past too.
But the flight of multiple Russian this week marks a clear escalation, experts say. NATO responded with overwhelming force. Cheap drones were with high-tech military kit and top-line F-35 jets were deployed. A costly exercise. America did not contribute equipment to the effort.
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 VideoRussia鈥檚 armed forces said they weren鈥檛 targeting Poland. Belarus suggested the drones veered off course, perhaps due to jamming.
France, Denmark, the Netherlands and the U.K. are sending more equipment to help Poland defend its borders, notably near Belarus where Russia on Friday. NATO鈥檚 eastern flank in Europe will be bolstered with more air defenses stationed there.
NATO鈥檚 supreme commander in Europe, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich on Friday launched a new operation, dubbed , that will use the extra European fighter jets, a warship and air defense systems along with existing air policing and ground defenses to plug any security gaps along the borders.
Europe is alone, for now
It鈥檚 鈥渦nclear what more 鈥 if anything 鈥 the U.S. is willing to do to strengthen NATO air defenses. So far, we鈥檝e seen Europeans operating U.S. platforms without a direct American military role,鈥 NATO鈥檚 longest-serving spokesperson Oana Lungescu, now an expert at the RUSI think tank, said on social media.
NATO relies on U.S. leadership, but the Trump administration insists that Europe must now take care of , and that of Ukraine.
Europe鈥檚 leaders have condemned the drone incident and promised action. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that it 鈥渃ould have been a mistake.鈥
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 PressTrump鈥檚 ambiguity about defending Europe has undermined trust at NATO, despite the alliance鈥檚 attempts to in July.
鈥淲e would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn鈥檛. And we know it,鈥 Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X on Friday.
After a meeting of the Polish National Security Council on Thursday, Tusk said: 鈥淲e would all prefer that the biggest ally spoke openly and publicly about this incident, but let鈥檚 not be picky, we must also get accustomed to the new situation.鈥
Asked Friday whether he had been in contact with Trump since the incident, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declined to comment.
Russia takes advantage
For Putin, it鈥檚 as good a time as any to test NATO鈥檚 resolve. To the dismay of Ukraine and European allies, Trump dropped his demands for an immediate ceasefire at his in Alaska last month, preferring a broader deal to end the war.
Long-threatened U.S. sanctions against Russia have remained just threats and Putin has bought more time to try to seize Ukrainian territory. Winter is approaching and the fighting is likely to grind to a halt within a few months anyway.
鈥淧utin is really out now to put down a marker to NATO,鈥 Jamie Shea, an expert on international security at the Chatham House think tank in London and a former top NATO official, told The Associated Press.
By provoking the allies to send air defenses to Poland, some of which might otherwise be bound for Ukraine, Putin wants to force the allies to 鈥渕ake the choice between defending NATO and defend Ukraine, which should be the same thing,鈥 Shea said.
Should they be unable to do so, he said, 鈥渇rom Putin鈥檚 point of view, this would be a very happy development because then he would be able to take apart Ukraine鈥檚 energy infrastructure, causing misery for the Ukrainian population.鈥
Grynkewich said that so far he sees 鈥渘o conflict between the support that individual nations are providing to Ukraine and what they are offering鈥 for Eastern Sentry.
How best to respond
It would not be easy for European allies to defend everyone at once without integrating their air defense systems with Ukraine. One possibility might be for Poland to accept Kyiv鈥檚 request to shoot down Russian missiles over western Ukraine should their trajectory take them toward Polish territory. Tusk鈥檚 government has never ruled out doing so.
Either way, time is on Russia鈥檚 side. While Trump has American weapons to the Europeans to help them arm themselves and Ukraine, many must be manufactured first. Putin understands that these systems take months, if not years, to make.
The drone incident came just before Russia鈥檚 joint military exercise with Belarus 鈥 dubbed 鈥淶apad 2025,鈥 or 鈥淲est 2025,鈥 鈥 got underway and could be linked. NATO accused Russia of using the “Zapad” exercises in 2021 to pre-position equipment for its invasion of Ukraine the following year.
That the exercises are taking place, even with a smaller Russian presence than usual, is 鈥渢o demonstrate that (Putin) can invade Ukraine and put pressure on NATO at the same time,鈥 Shea said.
Few experts think NATO will resort to activating of its founding treaty over the incident 鈥 the three musketeers-like pledge that an attack on one ally will be treated as an attack on them all 鈥 and the military alliance has not suggested that it would.
For now, the European effort to bolster defenses on NATO鈥檚 eastern flank is the order of the day.
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Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
