As A Result Of The Russian Drone Incident, NATO Launches East Central Command

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. (Photo: X/@NATO)

JAKARTA - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or also known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Friday, September 12, announced the formation of a new East Central Command to strengthen its east wing after a series of Allied airspace abuses by Russian drones that NATO calls the biggest incident to date in Poland.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte responded to the incident when Russian drones violated Polish airspace on Wednesday.

Russia's furore in the air along our eastern wing is increasingly occurring. We have seen drones violating our airspace in Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, whether intentional or not, it is dangerous and unacceptable," Rutte told a news conference in Brussels.

The NATO secretary-general said the alliance's core task was to prevent aggression and protect all its members from threats.

"Today ... NATO launched the East Central Command to strengthen our posture further along our east wing," Rutte announced.

"With contributions from Denmark, France, Britain, Germany, and other countries, this military activity will begin in the coming days," he said.

The Supreme Commander of the European Allies, General Alexus Grynkewich, together with the Secretary-General of NATO, said the initiative would be "flexible and agile, providing more focused deterrence and defense exactly when and where needed."

Grynkewich stressed that "the key to this is a completely new defense design," with the mechanism switching from separate air surveillance and ground defense to a "comprehensive and integrated approach."

According to him, with additional power, NATO will "be able to close the gap, concentrate troops on places that need to be maintained at certain threats, and will have much better communication on all sides of the east."

"Polanders and citizens of the entire alliance must believe in our quick response earlier this week and our important announcement today (that) NATO will continue to defend every inch of its territory," Grynkewich said.

Warsaw on Wednesday (10/9) said its airspace was violated by unmanned aircraft amid last night's airstrikes between Russia and Ukraine, calling the attack an "action of aggression."

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

Russia's Ministry of Defense denies any intention to strike targets in Polish territory during the attack, which it claims targeted the complex companies of the Kiev military industry in western Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense also expressed Moscow's readiness to discuss the incident with officials from Poland