NATO’s top military official, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, who is a US Air Force general, said the alliance would defend every inch of its territory.
“Poland and citizens from across the alliance should be assured by our rapid response earlier this week and our significant announcement here today,” Grynkewich told the same press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Grynkewich said Eastern Sentry was designed as 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.
NATO already has substantial forces in eastern Europe, including thousands of troops. It did not put a figure on how many additional troops would be involved in the new operation.
Its announcement detailed a modest number of additional military assets, including two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale fighter jets from France and four Eurofighter jets from Germany.
Separately, United Nations Security Council was set to meet on Friday at Poland’s request to discuss the incident.
Responding to Trump’s comment on Thursday that the incursion could have been an accident, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded on X: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.”
Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin was “sort of running out and running out fast”, but stopped short of threatening new sanctions over the war.
