Europe’s new battle to defend its skies from Russia
Air incursions are testing NATO’s will to resist
ON SEPTEMBER 10TH NATO experienced the worst violation of its airspace since its foundation more than 75 years ago, when 19 Russian drones entered Poland’s skies. Mark Rutte, the alliance’s secretary-general hailed the response as “a very successful reaction”, pointing out that Italian tankers and German Patriot batteries had been involved. But Polish and Dutch jets shot down only a minority of the intruders. On September 13th Romania reported that a Russian drone had entered its airspace. And on the same day president Donald Trump appeared indifferent to this test of NATO’s credibility, stating that the conflict in Ukraine “is not Trump’s war”. Can NATO protect its skies from the Kremlin?
Explore more
Europe has an urgency deficit
The continent has gone soft in the heat of crisis
Italy’s coalition sends mixed messages on Ukraine and Russia
Italian voters are ambivalent, so the government is too
Might Bosnia be about to break up?
A referendum and an election beckon
A crisis in long-term care of Europe’s elderly
The costs of neglect are huge
France gets a new prime minister
President Emmanuel Macron’s latest pick, Sébastien Lecornu, may need to compromise to survive
Putin’s dangerous drone probe is a moment of truth for NATO
Poland’s prime minister warns of “open conflict” with Russia