France said on Friday it's deploying fighter jets to Poland and the UK announced fresh sanctions targeting Russia's oil revenues and war machine as Europe's first, measured steps to Russia's drone incursion into Poland aimed to send a signal to Moscow that any further aggression won't go unchecked.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would deploy three advanced Rafale fighter jets to help protect Poland's airspace and NATO's eastern flank to fulfill a commitment he made to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. 

He said the deployment was discussed with both NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"The security of the European continent is our top priority. We will not yield to Russia's growing intimidation," Macron posted on X.

Britain's new sanctions include bans on 70 vessels that the UK says is part of Russia's "shadow fleet" that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions already in place. Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – have also been sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.

Russia, Belarus joint drills 

Troops of Russia and its key ally Belarus on Friday began joint military drills, the Russian Defence Ministry has said. 'Zapad 2025' or 'West 2025', to run till September 16, will be held in Belarus, in Russia and in the Baltic Sea and the Barents Sea.

Kremlin says peace talks paused

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday that there was a pause in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and accused European countries of hindering a process it said that Moscow remained open to.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have held three rounds of direct talks this year in Istanbul, most recently on July 23, which have yielded several agreements to return prisoners of war and the bodies of the dead. But the two sides remain far apart on what a possible peace deal might look like.