NATO flexes its muscles and bulks up defenses on its eastern flank to ward off Russia

French Rafale fighter jets, Danish F-16s, a frigate and ground-based defense systems have been pledged for the operation. Grynkewich said the additional resources will enable the alliance to “plug gaps in the line” and concentrate forces wherever they're needed while improving communications across NATO's entire eastern flank.

Poland’s Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz hailed the operation in a post on X as “active deterrence and readiness to defend wherever needed.”

Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns about Russia’s three-year war in neighboring Ukraine expanding.

Russia said it did not target Poland and Moscow’s ally Belarus said the drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders have expressed certainty that the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the drone incursion into Poland may have been a mistake.

“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake,” Tusk wrote on X. “But it wasn’t. And we know it.”

His foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, said anyone suggesting the drone incursion was accidental is a “willing accomplice” to the spreading of Russian propaganda.

European leaders announce measures to deter Russia

Earlier Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would deploy three Rafale fighters to Poland, while Britain unveiled fresh sanctions on Russia’s oil revenues and war machine.

“The security of the European continent is our top priority. We will not yield to Russia’s growing intimidation,” Macron posted on X. He said the deployment was discussed with both NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The new measures announced by Britain on Friday included bans on 70 vessels that the U.K. says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions. Some 30 individuals and companies — including Chinese and Turkey-based firms — also were sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen pledged expanded cooperation between the Danish and Ukrainian defense industries. Rasmussen said after talks with Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha that his country aims to increase its defense production in Ukraine and encourage more Ukrainian companies to set up shop in Denmark.

Britain stands with Kyiv

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper made her first trip to Kyiv on Friday after her appointment a week ago following a Cabinet shake-up by Starmer.

Cooper said her visit is a demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine, which she said has seen a massive increase in Russian drone attacks in recent months. In July, there was a tenfold increase over the same month last year, she said.

“The UK will not stand idly by as Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine,” Cooper said, noting what she said was the Russian president’s “complete disregard for sovereignty” by sending drones into NATO airspace.

“International action to increase economic pressure on Russia and to cut off critical cash flows which he desperately needs to pay for this illegal war is vital.”

Reflecting Britain's support for Ukraine, Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Kyiv where he met with wounded service members on Friday.

Sikorsky, the Polish foreign minister, was also visiting Kyiv on Friday. Sybiha posted on X that they would discuss “shared security, Ukraine’s EU and NATO accession, and pressure on Moscow.” Meanwhile, Poland's Defense Ministry said it will work with Ukraine to train personnel on anti-drone defense.

US stands by NATO allies

Wednesday’s Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace has compelled NATO allies to take a closer look at the means at their disposal to counter any further threats.

At an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on the drone incursions, acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the "United States stands by our NATO allies in the face of these alarming airspace violations … and rest assured, we will defend every inch of NATO territory.”

She said Russia's intensified bombing campaign since Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska last month and its violation of Polish airspace “intentionally or otherwise show immense disrespect for good-faith U.S. efforts to bring an end to this conflict.”

Speaking before the meeting, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said Russia’s “flagrant violation” of international law and the U.N. Charter and “reckless actions” bring the region “closer to conflict than at any time in recent years.”

Reading a statement on behalf of the European Union and more than half a dozen other countries, including the U.S. and U.K., Bosacki called the incursions a “profoundly disrespectful” provocation and called on Russia to immediately end its war on Ukraine.

He added that his country is pleased "so many countries recognize this threat as much as Poland does.”

Also Friday, Russia stoked European unease as it began a long-planned joint military exercise with Belarus aiming to showcase close defense ties between Moscow and Minsk, as well as Russia’s military might.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks to end the war were currently on “pause,” even though channels of communication remain open.

“One cannot simply put on rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield lightning-fast results,” Peskov said. “The Russian side remains ready to follow the path of peaceful dialogue.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated that neither promises of renewed trade nor territorial concessions will stop Russia until it realizes that its resources for waging war are depleted.

“The Russian war machine will only stop when it runs out of fuel,” Zelenskyy told a conference Friday. “And Putin will start to stop it himself when he feels, truly, that the resources for the war are running low.”

Ukrainian drones strike Russian oil port

Russian air defenses downed 221 Ukrainian drones over more than a dozen Russian regions early Friday, Russia's Defense Ministry said. The attack involved some of the highest numbers of drones reported by the Russian military, but there have been no reports of any significant damage.

A Ukrainian security official said drones struck Russia’s largest oil port on the Baltic Sea in Primorsk, including oil pumping stations conveying oil to the Ust-Luga port terminal.

The official said Primorsk is a key hub for Russia’s “shadow fleet" of sanction-busting tankers, which earn Moscow approximately $15 billion annually.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss missions. ____ Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Jill Lawless in London; John Leicester in Paris; Ilia Novikov in Kyiv and Katie Marie Davis in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.