The United Nations Security Council will meet on Friday in response to an incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace.

Over the night of Tuesday into Wednesday, the largest group of Russian drones to date crossed into Poland’s airspace, causing a scrambling of North Atlantic Treaty Organization aircraft to shoot them down. Poland’s defense minister told Parliament on Thursday that the debris of 16 drones had been recovered so far. In response, U.N. Security Council members Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, France, and Britain, all NATO members, called the 15-member body to meet on Friday in response to the episode.

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The emergency meeting will allow the group to issue fresh condemnations against Russia and seek to diplomatically isolate Moscow further. It will also provide Russia a chance to plead its case; in the past, the venturing of munitions into NATO airspace has usually been explained as an accident or Ukrainian air defenses.

The drone incursion marked a significant escalation in the war in Ukraine, marking the first time NATO forces had fired shots since Russia invaded in February 2022. Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35 fighter jets, Italian Airborne Warning and Control System surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft all took part in the response, according to Reuters.

The assets used to shoot down the drones are significantly more expensive than the relatively cheap drones themselves, a problem stressed by military analysts over the past few years.

Russia has said it did not intend to hit any targets in Poland and declined to comment further.

Also on Friday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced the launch of “Eastern Sentry,” an effort to boost the air defences along NATO’s border with Russia.

“The previous way we orchestrated ourselves on the eastern flank is we had individual air policing actions in different locations and we had individual ground-based air defenses in several locations as well, and then, of course, we’re working with nations on a case-by-case basis, as we see threats,” Rutte said. “This is going to be a comprehensive and integrated approach, and with additional resources, we’ll be able to plug gaps in the line.”

NATO ANNOUNCES ‘EASTERN SENTRY’ BOOST FOLLOWING RUSSIAN DRONE INCURSION INTO POLAND

The new effort is aimed at combating the use of drones, specifically, he said.

The Security Council met the previous day to discuss Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders sheltering in Qatar. The entire body, including the United States, condemned Israel over the act.