Polish president approves deployment of additional NATO forces in country for ‘Eastern Sentry’ operation

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has signed a decree authorizing NATO member states’ armed forces to be stationed in Poland as part of the alliance’s “Eastern Sentry” operation, the country’s National Security Bureau said on Sunday.

The bureau noted that the president’s decree is classified.

Operation “Eastern Sentry” began on September 12. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the mission was launched to strengthen the alliance’s defenses on Europe’s eastern flank. It was announced in response to an incident on September 10, when about 20 Russian drones violated Polish airspace. Fighter jets were scrambled and shot down some of the drones, marking the first time Russian drones had been brought down over NATO territory.

NATO troops were first deployed to Poland, as well as to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, in 2017. Since then, the NATO presence in Poland has expanded, and the country now hosts a division headquartered in Szczecin.