British fighter jets flew over Poland on Friday night as part of an operation to bolster NATO’s eastern flank after Russian drones violated Polish airspace earlier this month, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
Two Typhoon fighter jets took off from the Royal Air Force base in Lincolnshire to “patrol Polish skies and deter and defend against aerial threats from Russia, including drones,” the ministry said in a statement.
The mission was carried out for NATO’s Operation Eastern Sentry, an initiative launched last week in light of Russia’s breach of Polish airspace. Besides Britain, the operation involves assets from Denmark, France and Germany.
The ministry said Britain’s commitment to NATO was “unshakeable” and that the mission on Friday night followed the “reckless and dangerous incursion by Russian drones into Polish sovereign airspace – the most significant violation of NATO airspace by [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin to date since his illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
Europe has been on high alert as the incursion over the Polish airspace was followed by breaches over the airspaces of several other NATO member countries in the past week.
On September 9, Poland shot down Russian drones that had violated its airspace. The breach triggered a Quick Action Alert and saw Poland’s air force as well as allied militaries scramble aircraft.
The operation marked the first time shots were fired by NATO since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. The military alliance denounced Moscow’s “absolutely dangerous” behavior.
Days later, Russian drones violated Romanian airspace, prompting Bucharest to scramble fighter jets.
On Friday, NATO intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that violated Estonia’s airspace in what Estonia called an “unprecedentedly brazen” incident.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
