Theme: NATO

Latvia's armed forces briefly warned on Monday of a threat in the airspace over two regions and activated NATO air-policing fighter jets, according to Reuters, in a text republished by Street Insider, and later said the danger had passed, with the object believed to be on the ground in Latvia near the Russian border.

Pentagon officials have asked several North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries in recent weeks to tone down their rhetoric regarding the threat posed by Russia, according to Reuters.

A US-registered North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reconnaissance aircraft spent more than seven hours flying over the Black Sea on Friday, according to a source in air traffic control services cited by TASS. The aircraft has since returned to its home base in Constanta, Romania, the source said.

President Vladimir Putin said the West failed in its goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow and is unlikely to succeed by 2030, at a press conference following the Russia-Africa Summit, according to the Russian state agency TASS. Putin said that many are only talking about preparing for war by 2030, that Russia is prepared, but that it does not want any kind of war with Europe.

Romania’s Intelligence Service said on Monday it had identified a sabotage network coordinated by Russia, which it believes was responsible for a fire in September at an industrial site in central Romania near a state-owned weapons company, the Jerusalem Post reported. Romanian President Nicusor Dan accused Russia of having significantly escalated attacks on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) eastern flank this month. Russia’s embassy in Bucharest could not be reached for comment outside business hours, but Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations.

Turkey, the host of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN climate convention, is encouraging wealthy countries to spend more on climate support than on defence, according to OilPrice. The host of the next UN summit told The Guardian that wealthy countries should spend far more than the 5% of GDP NATO members have promised for defence, because “the climate issue is the security issue”. Asked whether as much should be spent on climate as on defence, he said: “Much more.”

Estonia is overhauling its military strategy, moving troops closer to the border and investing in long-range arms, amid what the newspaper describes as Russian grey-zone tactics on NATO’s eastern flank, according to The Hindu. The country’s defence spending is set to rise 42% in 2026, to €2.4 billion, or around 5.4% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said in Minsk on Thursday that NATO’s military buildup will require a timely response from the armies of Russia and Belarus, according to TASS. He spoke at a joint meeting of the boards of the two countries’ defense ministries.

NATO will send maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the Black Sea, after a series of deadly drone attacks on shipping in the region apparently linked to Russia's war in Ukraine, according to Reuters, in a text republished by US News. A US P-8 Poseidon has begun patrolling the Black Sea to conduct reconnaissance missions and detect any activity that could pose a risk, Radev said, according to Arab News. Last week, seven sailors were reported missing after drones struck two chemical tankers near Romania's Black Sea coast, setting them ablaze.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will send additional assets to the Black Sea, including support for surveillance, reconnaissance and forensics, according to The Guardian. According to TRT World, the deployment includes more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones, following a series of deadly attacks on shipping. Russia's military said it struck three cargo vessels at Ukraine's port of Reni and two others en route to Odesa on Tuesday.

Six ships were attacked in 10 days in the Black Sea by drones suspected of being Russian (among them the Able and Chelsea-3), an escalation in a maritime conflict that is pressing on the borders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to The Guardian. By Thursday, the attacks had encroached on Romania’s airspace and territorial waters; the Turkish-owned Alfa Watan, bound for the Romanian port of Sulina, had been struck by suspected Russian air and naval drones. Two chemical tankers, Wine Trader and Yara J, were attacked and left burning, and seven more sailors were missing.

Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over the Black Sea some 20 kilometers southeast of the town of Sulina, moments after they had illegally entered the country, according to Le Monde. Romania’s Defense Ministry said two Romanian Air Force F-16s engaged the drones, according to TRT World. At least seven cargo vessels were hit by drones in the Black Sea this month, off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), leaving two people dead and at least 25 missing, according to The Hindu; Romanian President Nicușor Dan said in Brussels that two drones had hit the vessels but did not say whose they were, and warned there would be a reaction from the Romanian state.

Two Latvian men living in the United Kingdom, aged 32 and 26, were arrested at about 2 a.m. Thursday after being found inside RAF Molesworth, in Cambridgeshire, which hosts the Intelligence Fusion Centre of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe, according to The Guardian. The investigation began four hours earlier, when military police found an abandoned vehicle near the facility, and police later found a small hole in the perimeter fence, according to The Hindu. The men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and causing criminal damage, then on suspicion of an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023, namely entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK, and were later released on bail, with strict conditions, while the investigation continues.

Drones struck two tankers near Romania’s Black Sea coast, setting them ablaze, leaving seven sailors missing, according to The Guardian. The missing crew were from the Wine Trader, a San Marino-flagged tanker travelling from Tunisia to Romania. The Wine Trader reported explosions and a fire about 13 nautical miles (24km) east of the mouth of the River Danube at Sulina on Thursday morning, according to the BBC. A NATO military source told Reuters the drones that hit the Wine Trader and the Yara J came from Russia, according to The Guardian. Romania’s president, Nicușor Dan, described the situation in the Black Sea as serious: “Commercial ships are being attacked and sunk,” he wrote on X.

The Ukrainian-owned ship “Chelsea 3,” sailing under the Maltese flag, was hit by three drones and sank about 18 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast around 1:30 a.m., with its crew of seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis rescued, in the second such incident in a week, according to The Hindu, citing Reuters; five crew members received medical care, with no one seriously injured, and Prime Minister Rumen Radev said he will speak with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, said at the Warsaw Security Forum that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would destroy “anything and everything” if someone was “foolish enough” to attack the alliance, that it would block the initial attack, blunt a persistent offensive and, if required, break the enemy’s forces and war-fighting system, without mentioning Russia by name, according to Al Jazeera.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is deliberately ambiguous about what would trigger Article 5, in an interview with Poland’s TVP World, according to TASS. According to him, the alliance could also invoke “other articles” if needed, including Article 4, which calls for consultations within the NATO Council if a member state believes its security is under threat.

The Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, will elaborate his theory of victory over any potential attack at a security conference in Warsaw, according to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials, cited by AFP, in a text republished by France24. The intervention is intended to send a signal to Moscow and reassure members, without divulging many new details on the allianceʼs strategy.

NATO’s military command has drawn up a new defense plan for the alliance’s eastern flank, focusing on drones and artificial intelligence, to be presented on October 12 to NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, according to TASS. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said the plan, dubbed “Theory of Victory”, is meant to ensure that war never begins, because those who threaten the alliance are convinced not to start it, and is not directed against Russia, according to TASS, citing an interview with La Repubblica.

Rubio said in Lisbon that the war in Ukraine has hit a stalemate that usually ends in negotiation or escalation, and he called escalation “very dangerous”, including possible Russian sabotage or strikes in neighboring NATO countries that could rapidly widen the conflict, according to OilPrice.

NATO will host its annual nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon beginning on Tuesday 13 October 2026, in Italy, with 17 nations and no live weapons, according to the alliance itself. The drills run from October 13 to 23, with 17 member states, according to RT.

Two Latvian men, aged 32 and 36, who live in the UK, were arrested at 2am inside RAF Molesworth in an investigation that began four hours earlier. The suspects were further arrested on suspicion of an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 — entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK. The base is home to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s Intelligence Fusion Centre and the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe, according to The Guardian.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the war in Ukraine is at a dangerous stalemate, according to Reuters, in a text republished by Internazionale. Rubio warned the escalation could become a sabotage campaign in neighboring countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In an interview, he said he does not believe the war can be settled through negotiations at this time, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.

Sweden will deploy Patriot missile defence systems to eastern Poland to help protect the NATO logistics hub that supplies weapons to Ukraine, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is not currently being discussed, because Washington is focused on resolving the Ukrainian conflict. Asked by a journalist whether Ukraine should be a NATO member, Rubio said “there's no yes or no answer”, according to TASS.

Lithuania's parliament voted Tuesday, in a first reading, to advance a constitutional amendment that would remove the ban on weapons of mass destruction from the constitution, LRT reported. The vote passed with 106 lawmakers in favour, 18 against and six abstaining. A final vote cannot be held until at least three months later. TASS described the vote as a removal of the ban on nuclear weapons deployment.

The Pentagon confirmed it had removed its bombers from RAF Fairford, thought to be about a dozen B-1s, back to their home stations in the United States, according to the BBC. The British government insisted RAF Fairford is safe, after the US withdrew all of its bombers from the base.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Paris on Saturday against continued aid to Ukraine, in a national protest by the Les Patriotes party of Florian Philippot, according to RT. The protesters called on President Emmanuel Macron to halt the aid and pushed for France's withdrawal from the European Union and all supranational institutions, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged member states to blame Russia for any incident they consider suspicious, even without irrefutable evidence of involvement, according to RT. Rutte praised Estonia's recent accusation against Russia and called on other nations to follow suit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would consider using all weapons at the country's disposal in the event of a direct attack on Russia, including Kaliningrad, according to Bloomberg. The Hindustan Times also reported the warning about using all types of weapons if Kaliningrad is attacked.

Belarus is prepared to restore verification and early warning mechanisms, as well as other military transparency measures, provided North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries show a reciprocal willingness to do so, Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov told TASS.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said there is no real proof that Russia is preparing an attack on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) territory, according to RT, following a meeting with the alliance’s chief, Mark Rutte, in Brussels — Sinkevicius said he asked Rutte whether there was any real proof from intelligence services and that the answer was that there is none, also according to RT.

The Russian Embassy in Ireland said in a statement on Wednesday that Moscow would be ready to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend Kaliningrad if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) tries to isolate the territory, according to the Kyiv Independent. The embassy said NATO is preparing an air and naval blockade of the region, without providing evidence or identifying the source of the claim. A Russian document sent to the alliance and obtained by Reuters says Moscow would use “its entire arsenal” to defend Kaliningrad, according to G1. NATO confirmed it had received an “informal document” from the Russian Embassy in Belgium with the warning about Kaliningrad, according to RTE.

The Russian Embassy in Ireland said, according to the TASS news agency, that Russia is ready to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) try to isolate the Kaliningrad Region from the rest of the country. The diplomatic mission said there has been information that NATO is preparing an air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad Region.

Georgia’s Defense Ministry said the multinational exercise SHARP LYNX 2026 began in Georgia, with military personnel from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia, at the Georgia–NATO Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC), according to TASS. The stated goal, the ministry said, is to further improve interoperability, staff organization procedures, coordination, and command and control skills in a multinational environment, as part of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP).

Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said Estonia's accusations that Russia is allegedly behind the arson of a military plant in Tallinn are baseless, ill-considered and cannot be taken seriously, according to TASS. Peskov reiterated that Russia will continue its “special military operation” to fully ensure its national interests.

The Russian embassy in Belgium warned NATO that the alliance’s policy on Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad heightens the risk of a direct military confrontation. The diplomats said Russia has the means to repel potential aggression and stands ready to deploy its entire available arsenal of weapons, according to TASS.

Swiss voters are deciding on Sunday whether to approve a more restrictive form of neutrality that would block the country from imposing economic sanctions or cooperating with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to Reuters. The proposal wants the constitution to stipulate that Switzerland cannot join or cooperate with any military or defence alliance unless attacked, and that it refrain from joining any sanctions unless approved by the United Nations. According to the Associated Press, the initiative is backed by a right-wing populist party that insists the Swiss government has gravitated too close to the European Union and NATO, notably over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Opinion polls suggest rejection: one of the latest surveys shows 68% against with 31% in favour, according to Reuters.

Iran’s envoy to the United Nations (UN), Gholamhossein Darzi, said in a letter that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) chief stated in an address on September 23, 2026, that roughly 5,000 aircraft had flown from European bases since February 28, 2026, in support of what was described as “Operation Epic Fury”, according to Mehr News Agency. Tehran says the use of European bases violates international law and calls for urgent Security Council examination. Iran says US and Israeli military actions killed more than 3,600 people, including at least 254 children and 251 women.

Four Italian soldiers of the 11th Bersaglieri Regiment were wounded in a shooting exercise in Ādaži, Latvia, on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Forward Land Forces mission, according to Italy’s Ministry of Defense. Shots fired from a weapon mounted on an Italian military vehicle hit another Italian vehicle carrying the four soldiers. They were taken to a hospital in Riga; one is in more serious condition and none is in life-threatening danger at the moment.

The $400 million package that the United States Congress approved in late 2025 for military aid to Ukraine does not include Patriot air defense system missiles, according to RBC-Ukraine, citing Reuters. Donald Trump’s administration took on the legal obligation to spend the full amount before September 30; as of the start of this week, $307 million had already been contracted and the remaining $93 million will be formalized by the deadline. The package includes offensive weapons, equipment and spare parts for armored vehicles.

Swedish and Finnish fighter jets were scrambled to intercept and identify Russian military aircraft in international airspace over the Gulf of Finland on Thursday, September 24, 2026, according to the Finnish Air Force, cited by The Hindu. The Russian group included a transport plane and several fighter jets, according to the Finnish statement, cited by The Hindu.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said U.S. President Donald Trump gave “final approval” for Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles under license, according to G1. Trump had offered the license in July at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, then reversed course on July 31, saying “we have not agreed to that,” according to ABC News.

Swedish and Finnish fighter jets were scrambled on Thursday, September 24, to intercept and identify Russian military aircraft, CGTN reports, citing the Finnish Air Force. Reuters also recorded the interception of a Russian military aircraft by Swedish and Finnish jets.

Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said the country does not plan to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), citing the neutrality enshrined in the Constitution, in a Bloomberg interview cited by Sputnik. Tofan said he wants to keep a good relationship with the alliance — including Romania.

The United States, Denmark and Greenland signed on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, a security agreement that expands the US military presence on the island. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, by Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. According to Reuters, in a dispatch carried by The Jerusalem Post, the text authorises bases at Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig in the east, expands the Pituffik base, which serves as a missile early-warning site, and lets US aircraft overfly, land and operate anywhere in Greenland, including its territorial waters and undersea space. No non-NATO country may keep a “persistent” military presence without unanimous approval by all three parties. The deal has no expiry date and amends the 1951 defence treaty. Trump said the agreement gives the United States “permanent control over security and all other needs” on the territory, and that no adversary will be allowed to establish a military presence there. Frederiksen said the text respects “the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark, as well as Greenland’s right to self-determination”, according to Al Jazeera, which quoted Nielsen saying “it is vital to keep NATO strong”. The deal ends months of standoff after Trump refused to rule out military or economic force to take the island, triggering a diplomatic crisis inside the alliance in January 2026. The US military presence in Greenland shrank from 17 installations and more than 10,000 personnel during the Cold War to about 200 at Pituffik.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, that European countries hosting US military bases or helping to prepare or execute US attacks could be “complicit in aggression”. He made the remark to his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to Middle East Eye, which cites an Iranian statement. Araghchi said rising fuel and commodity prices in global markets are a direct result of the US-Israeli war on Iran and warned of “the dangerous consequences that the normalisation of law-breaking and aggressive US unilateralism poses to the rule of law”.

A United States Air Force F-16 crashed on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, near Spangdahlem Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany, and the pilot ejected before impact, according to the base’s statement carried by the Associated Press and Deutsche Welle. The aircraft, an F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing, went down at about 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. UTC-4), and the cause is under investigation. “The pilot ejected safely and is receiving medical care,” the base said. The Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm said one person was injured and sent emergency crews to the site. Germany’s air traffic control authority said four F-16s were taking part in a training exercise and that one of the two returning to the base crashed on approach, according to GV Wire; the others landed at Ramstein Air Base, according to India Today. Spangdahlem is home to an F-16 squadron of about 20 aircraft. The crash comes five days after another F-16, from the Texas Air National Guard, went down in Michigan on September 17, 2026, during a training mission, according to Quartz.

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda said on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, that a new rotation of US troops is “already on its way” to the country, resolving part of the uncertainty over the military presence in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally bordering Russia, as reported by Reuters, Stars and Stripes and Mezha. Nausėda thanked Donald Trump and said the “US military presence in Lithuania is an indispensable part of our deterrence and collective defence”; Lithuanian foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys said “US boots on the ground are essential for deterrence, defence, and security on NATO’s eastern flank”. The United States has kept rotations in Lithuania since 2019, with battalions of about 1,000 troops. Stars and Stripes reported that the contingent is normally drawn from the Poland-based brigade, that the number and origin of the troops have not been disclosed and that the Pentagon had not publicly confirmed the deployment: in May 2026 defence secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a rebalancing of forces in Europe, withdrawing up to 5,000 troops from Germany and cancelling the move to Poland of the armoured brigade based at Fort Hood, Texas, which left the troops in Lithuania without a replacement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to expel Spain, a day after Madrid said it would not take part in security for the event where he was to speak. Spain has had an arms embargo on Israel since 2023 and recognised the Palestinian state in May 2024. Sources: The Times of Israel and Middle East Eye.

Lithuania’s Parliament voted on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, to lift the ban on stationing nuclear weapons on the country’s territory, with 99 votes in favour, five abstentions and 13 against. The amendment to Article 137 of the Constitution still needs two votes three months apart, on 6 October and 12 January, each requiring at least 94 of the 141 lawmakers.

France signed a contract to deliver radars and interceptor missiles to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York, according to the Kyiv Post and United24 Media. Macron did not disclose the number or type of radars and interceptors, nor a delivery timeline. The announcement came the same day Russia hit industrial sites in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad and Zelensky pressed for a new winter support package alongside France. Macron said he discussed the initiative with US President Donald Trump and that the two will work toward a moratorium on strikes against energy and civilian infrastructure, a proposal Ukraine conditions on Russian reciprocity.

Lithuanian prime minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius told BBC Newsnight that the country has evacuation plans ready and that the population is affected by overnight drone alerts in Lithuanian airspace, according to The Guardian. Sinkevičius said the elderly and people with disabilities would be priority groups, and that the government is working on several scenarios. On the same day, the head of the Czech Republic’s security service, Michal Koudelka, told the newspaper that a limited Russian incursion into North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) territory is possible, along with false-flag provocations and a massive influence campaign, on a horizon of “months, not years”. Separately, Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda said a new rotation of United States troops is on its way to the country and will be no smaller than previous ones: up to 1,000 US troops have been stationed in Lithuania on rotation since 2019.

Lithuania’s prime minister, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, told BBC News that the country has evacuation plans in the face of Russian threats and that, if attacked, “we will fight back”. In an interview with the Newsnight programme, he said Lithuanians feel “constantly threatened”, partly because of drones entering the country’s airspace, and that the government is working on “a variety of scenarios”, not all of them discussed publicly, citing as an example moving elderly residents out of cities without traffic jams. Lithuania’s Interior Ministry approved a population evacuation plan on 14 July, and details released on 16 September set out three main routes out of the capital, one of them using Poland’s Podlaskie province as a transit corridor, according to Newsweek. The interview comes a week after North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace from the direction of Belarus, according to BBC News. Lithuania shares a land border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Lithuania’s prime minister, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, told BBC News his country has drawn up evacuation plans for “a variety of scenarios” in the face of the Russian threat, while saying Lithuanians “will not surrender” if attacked: “we will fight back, we will engage”. In an interview with the Newsnight programme, also BBC News, he said Lithuanians feel “constantly threatened” by Russia, in part because of the drones entering the country’s airspace, and gave the example of getting elderly citizens out of cities “smoothly”. Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and is a NATO member that shot down a drone entering its airspace a week ago; Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told BBC News the aircraft came from the direction of Belarus, a Russian ally, which did not comment on the incident.