A Royal Dutch Air Force Airbus A330 entered Polish airspace nearly 40 minutes before the first Russian drone, according to Flightradar24 data cited by Sky News.
First Entry and Circulation
The Dutch military jet departed from Eindhoven at 23:45 and arrived above Lublin approximately an hour later, where it began circling alongside a Polish aircraft.
Dutch Government Response
According to Sky News, the Dutch government views the incident as a demonstration of the dangers posed by Russian aggression to European security. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof stated, “The Netherlands stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO ally, Poland.”
Increased NATO Presence
Following this incident, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced plans to deploy F-35 fighter jets to Poland for three months starting September 1 to support airspace monitoring.
