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NATO’s most senior military leaders are meeting in Denmark amid increased threats of Russian hybrid strikes.
It comes as Poland’s Prime Minister has warned that the country could face Russian drone strikes in the coming months.
The meeting of NATO’s military committee is an opportunity to go over what was discussed among NATO leaders at the high-level summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July.
At that meeting, the military alliance made renewed commitments to ramp up defence spending, particularly in Europe, to strengthen the defence industrial base, to create more defensive capabilities, and to evolve technology to adapt to the changing nature of warfare, especially in relation to hybrid and drone threats.
The meeting comes at a time of renewed pressure on European allies to do more to control their own defence on the continent, as the United States looks to pivot its attention elsewhere.
This has been reflected in reports over recent days that the Pentagon is considering pulling roughly a third of US forces out of Europe. The move is seen as increasing pressure on Europeans at a time when they face increased threats from Russia.
In the last few days, Denmark has reported that Russian flares from a warship were fired at one of its helicopters, with both sides accusing the other of reckless behaviour.
In Lithuania, a NATO jet shot down a drone believed to have come from Belarus, a key ally of Russia. These hybrid threats are seen as a major concern, shared not only among NATO allies but also within the European Union.
The matter was raised by Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address a few days ago, in which she said the hybrid threats posed by Russia are becoming less hybrid and less of a threat, indicating that the risks are becoming more tangible for European citizens.
NATO chief urges defence industrial revolution
Reporting: William Denselow