BRUSSELS (AP) — Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO has focused on trying to deter an attack on its own territory and avoid all-out war with nuclear armed Russia. Now the time has come for NATO to defend itself, and European allies might have to do it alone, experts and leaders say.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he had asked NATO to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance's treaty after Poland shot down drones in its airspace following what he called a "large-scale provocation" by Russia.

Glide bombs and fiber-optic drones are two Russian weapons that are extremely difficult to defeat.

NATO says it's bulking up its defensive posture on its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with new equipment.

Ukraine is ready to freeze the frontlines with Russia — if European and American allies can help provide tough security guarantees, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Monday.

WOHYN, Poland (AP) — Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland in what European officials described Wednesday as a deliberate provocation, causing NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down. A NATO spokesman said it was the first time the alliance confronted a potential threat in its airspace.

For more than three years, Ukraine has been battling Russian attack drones. On Wednesday, NATO got a taste of that fight.

Kyiv fears that Europe will react to Russia’s drone incursion into Poland by keeping its air defenses to itself instead of helping embattled Ukraine.