Nawrocki allowed their deployment as part of the Eastern Sentry operation (Eastern Guard), which is done to strengthen the defense of the Eastern Wing of NATO.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed a document by which he granted consent to the presence of the Armed Forces of the Member States of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in Polish territory. TASR informs about this on the basis of the report of PAP and news website Onet.pl.
BBN noted that the presidential decree is secret. The Eastern Sentry operation began on September 12. NATO Secretary -General Mark Rutte said the Alliance launched this mission in response to an incident of 10 September, when approximately 20 Russian drones disrupted the Polish airspace. Some of the drones shot down fighters that took off to protect the Polish airspace. This was the first case of shooting down Russian drones above NATO.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz also spoke about the details of the NATO operation in Poland on Saturday. According to him, “NATO (this way) gives a fixed and clear answer.” He added that it is probably one of the biggest operations in NATO’s history – eight countries have declared its willingness to join it and others “are preparing for such statements”.
When asked about the details of the operation, the Minister of Defense said several types of devices would be deployed to build a “multilayer air defense”. “It is not just a protidron defense, but the air defense applies to missiles, aviation and all types of threats that may arise,” stressed Kosiniak-Kamysz. He noted that the operation would include aircraft and helicopters, ground equipment, air defense, ground missile defense and drone systems.
The disruption of the Polish airspace occurred at night on Wednesday, September 10 and resulted in a rapid reaction of the Polish and other alliance forces that intervened against foreign objects. At the same time, Poland temporarily closed international airports in Warsaw, Lublin and Rzeszówe. Subsequently, Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty activated, which means consultation between Member States on a security threat.
