RAF jets are to be deployed to Poland in response to Russia’s drone incursion into Nato territory.
Sir Keir Starmer said sending air defence was ‘the right thing to do’ after several Russian drones were shot down by NATO forces.
Typhoon jets from RAF Conington in Lincolnshire will be dispatched to Poland as part of NATO’s ‘Eastern Sentry’ operation.
Nato’s top leaders announced the operation last week to step up their air defences in the alliance’s eastern flank, including increased air patrols and surveillance.
Eastern Sentry will focus on Poland but will shift elsewhere as worries linger that the Ukraine war could spill over borders.
The RAF jets will be joined by forces from Denmark, France and Germany.
The Prime Minister told Channel 4 that the incident was ‘not a one-off’, citing other recent Russian attacks on diplomatic missions in Ukraine, including the British Council in Kyiv.
He said: ‘The wrong thing to do would be to ignore this increased aggression from Putin from Russia, because this wasn’t a one-off.’
‘You saw only a few weeks ago the bombing of the British Council in Kyiv, the attacking of the EU embassy and the direct hits on the Council of Ministers, central government in Kyiv itself.
‘It’s absolutely clear that the Russians are upping the aggression. It’s very important that with our NATO allies that we respond appropriately to that and that’s what we’re doing today.’
Earlier today, Russia’s ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin was summoned to the Foreign Office to explain his country’s ‘reckless’ actions.
Defence minister John Healey said that Russia had ‘crossed a line’ with its incursion into Poland.
He wrote on X: ‘The UK will fly Royal Air Force Typhoons on Nato air defence missions over Poland, deterring Russian aggression.
‘This is a message to Moscow: you tested Nato, we responded with strength and unity.’
Why Russia entered Polish airspace last week unclear, but Moscow has insisted it did not target the country and its drone veered off course.
Yet during a session of the UN Security Council on Friday, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s UN ambassador, told officials that the drones never even reached Polish airspace.
He said: ‘There were no targets marked for Polish territory.’
Yet the evidence says otherwise, Poland’s Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki said.
‘We know, and I rewpeat, we know that it was not a mistake,’ he added.
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