WARSAW, Poland>> NATO said Friday it’s bulking up its defensive posture on its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with new equipment to deter potential Russian aggression following an incursion by Russian drones into Polish territory.

The alliance’s supreme commander in Europe said a new operation, dubbed Eastern Sentry, will add equipment from France, Denmark, Germany and the U.K. to its existing air and ground-based defenses. “The key to this is an entirely new defense design,” U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told reporters at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters.

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.

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.

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 U.K. 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.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski was also visiting Kyiv on Friday. Sybiha posted on X that the two officials 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.

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 the statement on behalf of the European Union and more than half a dozen other countries including the United States and United Kingdom, 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 launched 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.

U.S.-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to get traction.

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