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NATO: "Reckless" moves by Russia – Sending forces to Eastern Europe

Friday, September 12


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Operation Eastern Sentry begins NATO, in order to reinforce the eastern flank of the Alliance, following the unprecedented violations of Polish airspace by unmanned aircraft ( drones ), this week.

The operation will include the participation of several allies such as France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany and others, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

At a press conference at NATO headquarters, Mark Rutte stated that The French president has announced the contribution of Rafale fighters, Denmark offers F-16s, a frigate will participate , while other allies have already offered air defense system capabilities. The NATO secretary general, however, did not want to give further details.

The significance of the new operation is that it will cover the entire eastern flank of the Alliance. from the North to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, wherever we can detect a threat from the Russians while it will follow the model of Baltic Sentry, that is, the NATO action presented by the Alliance last January, in response to sabotage of undersea cables and natural gas pipelines in the Baltic region.

NATO's new operation is essentially the Alliance's response to Russia, following the violation of Polish airspace three days ago.

The violation of Polish airspace earlier this week is not an isolated incident, said General Alexus G. Grinkewicz, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Both the general and Mark Rutte, however, said that the assessment of the incident is still ongoing.

The NATO secretary general again avoided saying whether Russia's action was deliberate, saying that this was relevant, but stressed that it was reckless and unacceptable.

"We cannot accept that Russian unmanned aircraft enter European airspace, the EU, NATO, Allied airspace. This is absolutely impossible and that is why we must defend ourselves," he said characteristically.

For his part, the American supreme commander of the Alliance pointed out that NATO cannot wait, we are acting.

With the new operation, the Alliance will also strengthen its air defense. Eastern Guard is the new approach, offering a more focused and more flexible deterrence to reckless and dangerous actions, such as those that occurred this week, he added.

In any case, Mark Rutte said that the problem is not just about the eastern wing of NATO. There is a huge threat in the eastern wing from drones, for example, but he added that this concerns all of Europe as Russian missiles can reach Madrid or London. So in that sense, let's agree that within this alliance of 32 countries, we all live in the eastern wing.

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