NATO’s top military commander warned European lawmakers that the growing reach of drones has erased the old assumption that only alliance members bordering Russia sit on the front line.

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said the heightened security environment could persist for years.

Speaking to European Union parliamentarians in Brussels, Grynkewich framed the danger as one shared across the alliance rather than confined to its eastern edge. “In a way we are all eastern flank nations now,” he said.

Grynkewich serves as NATO supreme allied commander Europe and head of U.S. European Command. His warning centered on the ability of drones to threaten countries located far beyond the territories traditionally considered most exposed.

Poland and the Baltic states, which lie along NATO’s eastern flank, have generally been viewed as the alliance’s most vulnerable territory.

Recent drone incidents, airspace violations and suspected sabotage farther from Russia have now intensified security concerns across Europe.

“Those drones can go thousands of miles,” Grynkewich said. If one gets through, “it’s not just a threat on the eastern flank; it’s a threat to the entire alliance, including all the way in North America.”

Grynkewich described the broader security environment as “unsettled” and warned that it was “likely to become even more so over the next several years.” His assessment pointed to a prolonged period of concern rather than a short disruption.

In recent weeks, Russian drones have repeatedly approached or crossed into NATO airspace, prompting concern about a possible escalation. Manned aircraft also have crossed allied borders during the same period.

Image Credit: DoW

One such incident occurred last week, when a Russian military helicopter briefly entered Polish airspace. The aircraft came from Kaliningrad, the Kremlin’s military exclave.

Grynkewich also pointed to suspected sabotage conducted farther west. In August, authorities found a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian cargo plane at a civilian airport in Leipzig, Germany.

The German government has blamed Russia for that incident. The discovery illustrated the commander’s warning that the security problem is not limited to NATO territory closest to Russia.

Another reported case emerged Tuesday, when Estonia announced that it had arrested suspects connected to an August arson attack on a robotics facility. Estonia said the attack was ordered by “special services” of the Russian Federation.

Grynkewich said sabotage directed by states is becoming increasingly brazen. He called for stronger intelligence sharing among allies and for governments to publicly identify Russia or any other responsible state when the available evidence supports doing so.

“Once we have confidence in the attribution, we do need to make that public,” Grynkewich said. “Bringing that attribution out publicly will let state sponsors know that we understand what they’re doing, and that increases costs on them.”

The commander also repeated his concern that allied countries must prepare for conflicts unfolding in more than one region at the same time. His warning extended beyond drones, border violations and individual sabotage cases.

China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are “collaborating in ways directly counter to all of our global interests,” Grynkewich said. That cooperation, he argued, adds to the challenges facing NATO and its partners.

Grynkewich said the war in Ukraine could be “a sobering preview of how future simultaneous and potentially protracted conflicts might look.”

His remarks presented NATO’s current security challenge as alliance wide, potentially prolonged and no longer defined only by a map of its eastern border.