NATO has launched a major new security initiative along its eastern flank after a series of Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace, an episode that has brought the continent closer to open conflict than at any point since the Second World War. The operation, dubbed "Eastern Sentry," was announced in Brussels on September 12, 2025, by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Their announcement followed a tense week in which Polish air defenses shot down at least three Russian drones and discovered debris from several more scattered across the country.
"NATO is launching Eastern Sentry to bolster our posture even further along our eastern flank," Rutte declared, standing beside Grynkewich at NATO headquarters. The initiative, he explained, will draw on military assets from Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, with additional allies expected to join in the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, moved quickly, announcing that France would deploy three Rafale fighter jets to Poland. "The security of the European continent is our top priority. We will not yield to Russia’s growing intimidation," Macron posted on X, echoing the urgency felt across the alliance.
The immediate trigger for these moves was a dramatic escalation on the night of September 11 to 12, when Polish authorities reported at least 19 incursions by Russian drones and drone-like objects. According to Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, this marked the closest the country had come to armed conflict since 1945. "I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and it’s incomparably more dangerous than before," Tusk warned, adding, "This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since [the Second World War]." Polish air defenses responded by shooting down at least three drones, with a possible fourth also destroyed, and local authorities scrambled to recover debris in towns and villages ranging from Wyryki and Wyhalew in the east to Olesno, 400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Some of the drones or their debris landed alarmingly close to civilian areas. In Wyryki, a drone or similar object struck a residential building, though, fortunately, no one was injured. Police and prosecutors in the eastern Lublin region found damaged drones and components near a cemetery in Czesniki and in a field near Mniszkow, in the central Lodz region. Poland’s interior ministry spokesperson Karolina Galecka reported finding seven drones and debris from a missile, underscoring the scale and seriousness of the incursion.
The incident prompted an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council at Poland’s request. During the meeting, Poland’s Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki presented photos of a downed drone marked with Russian lettering, insisting, "Poland will not be intimidated." Bosacki also read a joint statement backed by 43 countries, condemning Russia’s actions as a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, and calling on Moscow to halt its "war of aggression against Ukraine" and refrain from further provocations.
The United States, meanwhile, left little doubt about its commitment to NATO’s collective defense. Acting US ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the Security Council, "The United States stands by our NATO allies in the face of these alarming airspace violations." She added, "We would defend every inch of NATO territory." Shea also noted that Russia had intensified its bombing campaign against Ukraine since President Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, as part of Trump’s bid to broker an end to the war. "These actions, now with the addition of violating the airspace of a US ally – intentionally or otherwise – show immense disrespect for good-faith US efforts to bring an end to this conflict," Shea said.
Russia, for its part, denied any intention to strike targets in Poland. Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia argued that Russian forces were attacking Ukraine at the time and that the drones’ maximum range was only 700 kilometers, making it "physically impossible for them to have reached Polish territory." Polish officials, however, dismissed these claims. Prime Minister Tusk was blunt: "We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed this sentiment, stating, "Increasing evidence indicates that this movement, this direction of strike, was no accident." Zelensky also offered Ukraine’s assistance in helping Poland build an effective warning and protection system against Russian threats.
Across Europe, leaders responded with swift condemnation. EU Council President Antonio Costa declared that the bloc stood in "full solidarity with Poland," emphasizing, "the security of one is the security of all." French President Macron called the incursion "simply unacceptable" and condemned it in the "strongest possible terms." The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, described the event as "the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began" and said that "indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental."
NATO’s new operation, Eastern Sentry, is designed to be flexible and agile, according to General Grynkewich. "Eastern Sentry will be flexible and agile, delivering even more focused deterrence and defence exactly when and where needed," he said. The mission will integrate a range of air and ground assets, with the aim of sending a clear message to Moscow that the alliance is united and ready to defend its members. "Although the immediacy of our focus is on Poland, this situation transcends the borders of one nation. What affects one ally affects us all," Grynkewich stressed.
Poland’s Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz expressed gratitude for NATO’s rapid and robust response. He described the deployment as "not only a strategic decision" but "an expression of responsibility for the security of the entire eastern flank of the alliance." The sense of shared responsibility was echoed by European leaders and NATO officials alike, who see the incident as a stark warning of the dangers posed by Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and its willingness to test the resolve of the Western alliance.
For now, NATO sources have indicated that the alliance is not treating the drone incursions as an attack on a member state under Article 5, the collective defense clause. Yet the mood across Europe is unmistakably tense, with leaders and citizens alike aware that the stakes have risen dramatically. As the Eastern Sentry operation gets underway, all eyes will be on NATO’s eastern frontier, where the line between deterrence and escalation has rarely felt so thin.
With debris still being collected and investigations ongoing, Poland and its allies are bracing for what may come next. The events of this week have underscored, in the starkest possible terms, how quickly tensions can flare and how vital unity and vigilance remain for the security of the continent.