Alarms bells sounded this week in Europe after NATO jets scrambled to intercept an unprecedented Russian drone incursion in Poland. Now there is fresh unease on NATO’s eastern flank, as Russia and Belarus kick off major military drills to test the readiness of their armed forces.

The consultations at NATO headquarters were part of a regular meeting of ambassadors from the alliance's 32 member states known as the North Atlantic Council, but Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told Parliament that they came under Article 4 of the treaty that founded NATO in 1949 in the aftermath of World War II.

Europe has "nowhere near enough volume to defend itself in the event of a major and protracted war," Matthew Savill told Newsweek.

Denmark, France and Germany have joined a new mission to bolster the military alliance's eastern flank after Russian drones flew into Poland on Wednesday.

President Trump attempted to give Vladimir Putin another pass after Russia sent drones deep into Polish territory. The incident comes a week after Donald Trump met with Polish President Karol Nawrocki at the White House.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — France said Friday it’s deploying fighter jets to Poland and the UK announced fresh sanctions targeting Russia’s oil revenues and war machine as Europe’s first, measured steps to Russia’s drone incursion into Poland aimed to send a signal to Moscow that any further aggression won’t go unchecked.

For more than three years, Ukraine has waged an almost nightly battle against Russian attack drones. NATO on Wednesday got a taste of that fight. Polish authorities said they detected 19 violations of their airspace,