A new NATO-led air defense mission in Poland sprang into action this week by scrambling F-35 jets in response to a potential Russian drone incursion.
Polish authorities had said on Wednesday that fighter jets were scrambled after "intense long-range aviation activity" was detected from Russia.
NATO has taken over air defenses in Poland from the US just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to a NATO spokesman, with questions looming about the incoming administration’s approach to the alliance and to Ukraine.
NATO member Poland scrambled fighter jets after overnight Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, Warsaw's military said on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces told Newsweek that "intense long-range aviation activity" from Russia had been detected early on Wednesday.
Two Norwegian F-35 jets were deployed on January 15 to protect Poland's airspace due to Russian aircraft attacking Ukraine. This was the first time such an incident had occurred, according to NATO Air Command.
Two Norwegian F-35s stationed in Poland were deployed on Wednesday in response to a "massive number of airborne Russian aircraft" entering Polish air space, NATO's air command said on Thursday on social media platform X.
Keir Starmer has spoken of "deep bonds of family, of history, and of friendship" on a state visit to Poland - where he unveiled a new security and defence pact.
Standing at the base of a five-meter-high (16-foot) metal fence topped by barbed-wire running along the border with Belarus, armed Polish soldiers are on the lookout for migrants.
British prime minister Keir Starmer visited Poland on Friday to discuss border issues and military support for Warsaw.View on euronews
Warsaw is backing Donald Trump’s demand for Nato countries to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence even if it will take 10 years for the alliance’s laggards to reach the target, says the Polish defence minister.
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NATO’s new role as the command hub for air defense in Poland is the latest push to have the alliance shoulder more responsibility, U.S. Army Col. Martin O’Donnell, spokesman for Supreme Headquarters Allied Power Europe, said Monday.