London, Sept. 12: NATO said on Friday it will strengthen defences along Europe’s eastern side, just two days after Poland shot down Russian drones that crossed into its airspace, Reuters reported. At the UN, the US called the drone strikes “alarming” and promised to defend “every inch of NATO land.”

European leaders said on Thursday they’re concerned about Russia getting more aggressive and threatening their countries while its forces keep pushing the war in Ukraine. On Wednesday, several Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace while Moscow was carrying out heavy strikes on Ukraine. EU leaders said it forces the alliance to confront a potential new phase of the conflict.

NATO scrambled fighter jets to intercept drones and admitted it’s still unclear whether the drones fired into Poland were intentional or accidental. Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania released a joint statement calling it a “deliberate and coordinated strike” and warning it was meant to escalate tensions. Finland’s president said the line between war and peace has now blurred even further.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, with all three condemning Russia’s growing aggression. “it was clear that Russia was continuing to ramp up its aggression, systematically stepping up its attacks through a campaign of increasingly belligerent actions,” he said.

Berlin announced it would expand air policing over Poland. NATO’s top commander in Europe, US Gen Alexus Grynkewich, admitted the alliance still doesn’t know how many drones entered Polish airspace or if they were fired intentionally,  but vowed NATO would “learn lessons” from the breach.  “We will learn of things that we need to enhance our posture, to handle these limited incursions,” Grynkewich said in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Finland’s president Alexander Stubb, meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, warned that the line “between war and peace has been blurred.” Poland rejected Trump’s suggestion that the drone strikes could have been a “mistake,” openly contradicting him. Earlier, Trump had said, “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” Later, the U.S. joined other Western allies in condemning Moscow, accusing it of violating international law and the UN. Charter. 

In Warsaw, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk praised NATO forces for reacting fiercely and vowed to modernise Poland’s military, signalling the arrival of new F-35 fighter jets. The Kremlin denied targeting Poland, insisting its drones were aimed at Ukraine. But the incursion forced an emergency UN Security Council meeting questioning NATO’s readiness.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to face daily drone attacks. Overnight, its air force intercepted 62 out of 66 Russian drones. Ukraine has been developing “interceptor drones” to counter these strikes and has struck a deal with Britain to produce them.-Agencies