France and Germany said they were helping to strengthen NATO ally Polands air defense after at least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on September 10, severely raising tensions between the Western military alliance and Moscow.
German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius on September 11 said Berlin's military would "extend and expand" air policing over Poland to provide additional cover for the country's airspace.
At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would "deploy three Rafale fighter jets to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and of NATO's Eastern Flank together with our Allies."
"We will not yield to Russias growing intimidation," Macron added.
Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic all summoned the Russian ambassadors to their countries to protest the incident.
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Later, US President Donald Trump told reporters he was "not happy" with the Russian drone situation but added that the incursion into Polish airspace "could have been a mistake," without elaborating.
A day earlier, Trump posted on hisTruth Socialplatform: "Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go!" -- also without elaborating.
Since Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, concerns have risen in the West that Europes largest ground war since World War II could spill over into neighboring countries, potentially igniting a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.
Poland labeled the September 10 incident -- which led Polish and NATO forces to shoot down several of the approaching Russian drones -- a deliberate "unprecedented" attack on the country, NATO, and the European Union.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki on September 11 called the incident "an attempt to test the mechanism of action within NATO and our readiness to respond."
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There were no casualties, although at least one house and a car were destroyed, officials said.
The Kremlin denied targeting Poland and said there was no evidence that the drones were launched by Russia.
The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting for September 12 to discuss Warsaw's accusation that Moscow launched the drone raid on its territory.
It was not the first time that Russian drones and missiles have strayed into the airspace of NATO nations since the start of Russias full-scale war on Ukraine.
Poland bolstered security procedures on September 11, limiting air traffic along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine until December 9.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called a NATO meeting on September 10, invoking NATOs Article 4 which is a mandatory convocation of members. Its the second time that has happened since February 2022, but it is short of the more serious Article 5.
NATO chief Mark Rutte called out Russias "reckless behavior" and said the alliance's air defenses had done their job in intercepting at least some of the drones.
However, some in the West questioned the efficiency of the defense following reports that only four or five of the 19 drones had been shot down.
