Russian drone flights into NATO skies test alliance's red lines

Ukraine’s military said Tuesday it downed a Russian drone as the unmanned aerial vehicle returned after crossing into Polish airspace. Russia hasn’t commented on the incident. Earlier this week, another drone suspected of belonging to the Russian military crashed in Romania. Allied officials have said they are studying the incident.

“We are very closely monitoring airspace and the border areas around NATO,” Jens Stoltenberg, the head of the alliance, said Tuesday. “Our military commanders also have lines to the Russian commanders to help prevent incidents and accidents, and to help prevent them from spiraling out of control if they happen.”…

The U.S. has deployed Patriot air-defense batteries to Poland and Germany shipped some to Slovakia, among other moves to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank. More than 100 combat jets have been deployed along NATO’s eastern border close to Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other NATO leaders have repeatedly said they would protect “every inch” of alliance territory.