By Andrew Gray, Barbara Erling and Michelle Nichols BRUSSELS/WARSAW/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - NATO announced plans to beef up the defence of Europe's eastern flank on Friday, two days after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace in the first known action of its kind by a member of the Western alliance during Russia's war in Ukraine.

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.

"Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down," Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said on Wednesday.

Underscoring the global repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine war, China on Thursday urged Poland to keep open a section of the Belarus border for a China-EU freight track that crosses it. The rail line is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative to boost trade with other countries.

Poland is set to receive €43.7 billion from the European Union's Security Action for Europe fund, as it strengthens its defense capabilities amid perceived Russian threats. This financial support aims to bolster the Polish Armed Forces through various military investments,

The swarm of nearly 20 drones across Polish borders this week triggered deep anxiety among NATO members who, for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, fired on a Russian target, violating the alliance's airspace.

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.

Energy and defence are the two most important areas of partnership between Poland and France in the context of the historic treaty signed on 9 May this year in

Poland will get 43.7 billion euros ($51.3 billion) under a European Union programme to boost its defence capabilities, a deputy prime minister said on Tuesday, as Warsaw builds up its armed forces due to what it sees as an increased Russian threat.

In the years since Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO has focused on defending its own territory first and resisted lower-level harassment from Russia, like acts of sabotage and intimidation.