Description: NATO’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte, accompanied by the Supreme Allied Commander of the Alliance, Alexus Gregory Grynkewich, has announced the launch of the operation Eastern Sentry, following Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace last week. The incident solicitated a stern reaction, as Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia of deliberately attempting to test the ultimate response limits of NATO and potentially provoke a wider response. Under the umbrella of operation Eastern Sentry, several NATO members such as Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Britain and the Czech Republic would deploy undisclosed amount of military assets and personnel to eastern Poland in order to strengthen the country’s borders with Belarus and Russia. Last week, Poland activated NATO Article 4, which stipulated consultations with allied countries over the appropriate response regarding the drone incident. Russia has continuously denied the accusations, stating that the intended target has been eastern Ukraine and not Poland. Belarus has supported the Russian claims, stating that the drones veered off course due to a jamming signal issues while entering Polish airspace. Romania has in the meantime also reported that Russian drones have infiltrated the country’s airspace in the southwest for a brief period before they shortly disappeared from the radar.
Impact: Regardless of the intentionality or the purpose of the aerial incursions, the incidents demonstrate the importance of air defenses in the modern warfare dictated by the rapid development and usage of drones. NATO has naturally responded with launching operation Eastern Sentry without elaborating on specifications which indicates that despite the public portrayal of escalating criticism, NATO won’t substantially deploy large amounts of military assets. The separate incident in Romania further attests to the fact that Russia would continue to violate the airspace in Eastern Europe either to collect intelligence, provoke a response or simply examine the capabilities of its own aerial capacities compared to NATO’s air defenses. With the conclusion of the Zapad 2025 drills, jointly conducted by Russia and Belarus, tensions would deflate, however, the incident is yet to prompt a firmer response from the US as the war in Ukraine continues while peace efforts have been considerably compromised.