GENEVA

The NATO chief on Friday announced the creation of a new Eastern Center command to reinforce its eastern flank after a series of Russian drone violations of allied airspace, including what the alliance described as the largest such incident to date in Poland.

On Wednesday's incident where Russian drones violated Polish airspace, activating NATO's air defenses, Secretary General Mark Rutte told a press briefing in Brussels: "Russia's recklessness in the air along our eastern flank is increasing in frequency. We have seen drones violate our airspace in Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, whether intentional or not, it is dangerous and unacceptable.”

Saying the alliance's "core task" is to deter aggression and defend all of its members from threats, he announced: "Today … NATO is launching Eastern Center to bolster our posture even further along our eastern flank.” With contributions from Denmark, France, the UK, Germany and others, this military activity will commence in "the coming days," he said.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich, alongside the NATO chief, said the new initiative would "be flexible and agile, delivering even more focused deterrence and defense exactly when and where needed."  

'New defense design'

He stressed that "the key to this is an entirely new defense design," moving from separate air policing and ground defenses to "a comprehensive and integrated approach." With added resources, he said, NATO will "be able to plug gaps in, to concentrate forces where we need to defend at a moment of a particular threat, and will have much better communication across the entire eastern flank."

"Poland and citizens from across the alliance should be assured by our rapid response earlier this week and our significant announcement here today (that) NATO will continue to defend every inch of its territory," Grynkewich said.

Warsaw said on Wednesday that its airspace was violated by drones amid overnight airstrikes between Russia and Ukraine, calling the incursion an “act of aggression.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the troops were Russian, with authorities initially recording 19 airspace violations.

The Russian Defense Ministry denied any intention to strike targets on Polish territory during the attacks, which it claimed targeted enterprises of Kyiv’s military-industrial complex in western Ukraine.

It also expressed Moscow’s readiness to discuss the incident with officials from Poland.​​​​​​​