Drones (unmanned aircraft) launched by Russia targeting Ukraine are repeatedly threatening the airspace of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states. Poland and Romania scrambled fighter jets and moved to a military response. After directly shooting down a Russian drone for the first time, NATO is also launching a new mission to strengthen the defense of the eastern front, signaling an all-out effort to block any possibility of escalation.
According to Bloomberg and others, Poland's Operational Command said on the 13th (local time) that it deployed national and allied aircraft in its airspace as a preventive measure. The move came as the threat of Russian drone attacks rose in neighboring Ukrainian regions. As a result, Lublin Airport in eastern Poland was temporarily closed. Polish authorities said this was the second such measure in a week.
Romania was also on alert the same day. The Ministry of National Defense announced that a Russian drone violated its airspace, prompting the emergency scramble of two F-16 fighter jets. The ministry explained that the drone crossed the border as Russia attacked Ukrainian infrastructure near the Danube River. It added that there was no risk to human life because the drone did not fly over densely populated areas.
The incident came just three days after Poland directly shot down a Russian drone that violated its airspace. The Polish government said on the 10th that several Russian drones had violated its airspace and that it shot down three to four of them. It was the first case in this war of a NATO member state directly attacking a Russian military aircraft. Poland immediately scrambled F-16 fighter jets and requested the invocation of Article 4 of the NATO treaty. Article 4 of the NATO treaty stipulates that when the territorial integrity or security of an ally is threatened, the country concerned may request consultations. Dutch F-35 stealth fighters and an Italian airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS) were then urgently deployed to support the shootdown operation.
The repeated airspace violations also revealed a subtle difference in views between the United States and Poland. U.S. President Donald Trump suggested in an initial response that the Russian drone incursion could have been an unintentional accident. Poland immediately countered, saying it was "not a mistake" and calling it a "clear act of aggression."
NATO quickly raised its response level as the threat from Russia became real. Following the shootdown in Poland, NATO announced it would strengthen the defense posture in Eastern Europe. In particular, it launched a new mission named "Eastern Sentry," sending a strong warning message to Russia.
Experts say Russia is mass-deploying cheap decoy drones to disrupt the air defenses of NATO member states bordering Ukraine and to test the alliance's response posture. Many of the drone remnants recovered by Poland were identified as the "Gerbera" type, which Russia uses to jam air defenses. There is also the possibility that, in striking western Ukraine far from Russian territory, drones unintentionally crossed the border while taking the shortest route through Polish airspace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Kyiv with U.S. presidential envoy Keith Kellogg to discuss additional sanctions on Russia and joint weapons production. As the war drags on and the front lines widen, the risk of accidental clashes between NATO and Russia is growing further.