The U.S. has pivoted policy to focus more northward. In 2018, it resuscitated the U.S. Navy's Second Fleet to counter Russia, including in the Arctic, closely linked with the establishment of NATO's newest command, the Virginia -headquartered Joint Force Command Norfolk.

Officials in Romania announced Wednesday that NATO deployed two German fighter jets in its airspace in response to a Russian drone attack on Ukraine.

Two German fighter jets were scrambled to the Romanian-Ukrainian border on Tuesday night in response to a Russian drone attack in the frontier region.

"In connection with the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory – including with the use of hypersonic missiles – aircraft of the Polish Air Force and allied aviation are operating in Polish airspace,

NATO scrambled two German Eurofighter jets in response to Russian airstrikes near Ukraine's border with Romania overnight into Wednesday. The jets were activated after Russian weapons systems approached Romanian airspace.

A Polish general said early evidence points to the drone having a Chinese engine, and that it was likely "flying very low" to avoid radar.

Rather than exploiting Russia’s weaknesses, a drone-centric NATO could be playing to Russia’s strengths, some experts warn.

President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in the quest for a path to end the war with Russia.