NATO has still not determined whether the Russian drones deliberately entered the Polish airspace on Wednesday, but the incident was so extensive that the alliance strengthens the anti -aircraft weather along the entire eastern flank with immediate effect.
Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the highest military NATO commander Alexus Grynkewich announced on the headquarters in Brussels on Friday that under the name Eastern Sentry (Eastern sentry) A ‘defense line’ is erected to which a number of European NATO allies with extra equipment will contribute.
France and Denmark already promised extra combat aircraft, other countries offered a frigate and aerated anti -aircraft. In addition to the traditional ‘heavy’ weaponry, new techniques will also be used that are specifically designed for the defense against drones. Grynkewich also expects a lot of improved cooperation between the NATO units stationed along the Oostflank.
‘Learning organization’
The reaction to the approximately twenty drones was described as very successfully by the NATO summit, even though not all devices were captured. Military analysts watched NATO action with great surprise this week because very advanced aircraft with expensive rockets were used against relatively simple and cheap drones. Grynkewich defended the performance, but acknowledged that the purpose of the new operation is to get weapons that cost less. He did underline that he believes that his soldiers should not wonder in an action what a weapon costs, but should concentrate on their mission. NATO is a learning organization that draws lessons from every effort, he said.
“It is reckless and unacceptable,” Rutte said about the Russian drones in the NATO air space. He said that it is important what the motives of Russia were, but that it is not possible what happened and that NATO will do everything to defend the territory. According to Rutte, the investigation into the state of affairs is still ongoing.
US shows itself reluctantly
Eastern Sentry is modeled on Baltic Sentrya special mission in the Baltic Sea, which was set up last winter in a few days to protect critical undersea infrastructure, among other things by patroling more and more systematically. No American devices were involved in the air in the air this week and also for Eastern Sentry Do not deliver the US extra equipment. According to Grynkewich, that does not mean that the mission is not worn by the entire alliance. “I’m here,” said the American.
Rutte said he had no complaints about the American response to the events. US President Donald Trump caused a stir this week by suggesting that drones could have accidentally reached Poles. The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk immediately challenged that lecture on X: “We would also like the drone attack on Poland to be a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know that.”
Trump also said in an interview that he is starting to lose his patience with Putin, but did not announce any additional measures to force Putin to force serious peace talks. This week the US invested a special meeting of the finance ministers of the seven large industrialized countries united in the G7. The US wants the group to impose import duties on goods from India and China to punish those countries for the fact that they purchase Russian oil on a large scale. Moscow desperately needs that income to finance the war. The Europeans in the group see more in sharpening sanctions against Russia.
A number of European countries, including the Netherlands, called the Russian ambassador on the mat and Friday evening the UN Security Council would consider the violation of Polish airspace.