RAF deploys fighter jets in response to 'aggression from Vladimir Putin'

The UK will deploy RAF Typhoon jets to Poland, the prime minister has announced, joining NATO's "Eastern Sentry" mission in response to Russia's "increased aggression".

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Sir Keir Starmer said Britain would provide “further air defence over Poland” after multiple Russian drones violated the country's airspace and were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft last week.

Starmer said: “That is the right thing to do. The wrong thing to do would be to ignore this increased aggression from [Russian President Vladimir] 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 in Kyiv itself.”

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He added: “It’s absolutely clear that the Russians are ramping up the aggression. It’s very important that, with our NATO allies, we respond appropriately to that and that’s what we’re doing today.”

Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, will take part in NATO's “Eastern Sentry” mission, patrolling the skies over Poland alongside aircraft from Denmark, France and Germany. They will be backed up by a Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Defence Secretary John Healey said: “The UK is fully committed to playing its part in Eastern Sentry, increasing our military presence on NATO's eastern flank even further.”

In the early hours of last Wednesday, Polish and NATO aircraft shot down at least three drones, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, adding that a total of 19 drone incursions had been recorded.

Tusk warned: "This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two." The incident marked the first time Russian drones were downed over NATO territory since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

On Saturday, just days after the incursion into Polish territory, a Russian drone breached Romanian airspace during an attack on Ukraine. Bucharest scrambled two F-16 fighter jets, which, along with two German Eurofighter Typhoons, tracked the drone for 50 minutes over NATO territory before it headed towards Ukrainian airspace, according to Romania's Defense Ministry.

The UK Foreign Office summoned Russia’s ambassador in London, Andrei Kelin, condemning Moscow's "unprecedented violation" of Polish and Romanian airspace and branding the incursions "utterly unacceptable".

The UK said it would join NATO efforts to strengthen the defence of the alliance's eastern flank. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “Russia should understand that its continued aggression only strengthens the unity between NATO allies and our determination to stand with Ukraine, and any further incursions will again be met with force.”

Six RAF Typhoon jets were stationed in Poland between April and July as part of NATO's enhanced air policing mission - a responsibility shared among alliance members.

During that deployment, the jets flew nearly 500 hours and carried out 20 scrambles, operating alongside Swedish aircraft.