Several Eastern European leaders warned about the ongoing threats Russia poses to their nations during the United Nations General Assembly this week.

This week’s UNGA in New York comes at a perilous moment for European leaders following Russian drone or aircraft incursions this month into Romanian, Polish, and Estonian airspace.

Recommended Stories

• Trump White House swaps Biden for autopen in new Presidential Walk of Fame
• GSA offers roles back to DOGE-fired staffers
• Bill O'Reilly does it again: 20th No. 1 book with Confronting Evil

“Russian fighter planes violated Estonian airspace, a hostile hack,” last week, Estonian President Alar Karis said on Wednesday. “That is part of a pattern of similar recent incidents happening on the European Union’s eastern border. Therefore, the only viable way forward towards the ceasefire and just and lasting peace is to increase collective international pressure on Russia.”

Russia’s war in Ukraine has gone on for more than three and a half years, and the conflict has almost entirely been contained to Ukraine until this month.

Estonia, Romania, and Poland are all NATO members. Estonia and Poland share a border with Russia, while Romania, like Russia, has direct access to the Black Sea. Ukraine is not in NATO or the EU.

The leaders of the countries closest to Russia have been concerned for years about what Russian success in Ukraine, a full-scale war that began more than three and a half years ago, could mean for their own national security. They have dramatically increased their defense spending in recent years.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki, in his Tuesday address at the UNGA, said the world was “awakened from our blissful dream,” the day Russia began its full-scale invasion into Ukrainian territory, February 24, 2022.

“State borders have ceased to be untouchable as a matter of fact, and international law, which has so far been considered the compass of the world order, began to be treated more as a recommendation than a rule,” Nawrocki said. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not only the most serious conflict in Europe since World War II, but it is also a turning point. The existing international order is crumbling before our eyes.”

Within this month alone, three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace, Romania had to scramble two F-16 fighter jets to intercept a Russian drone that briefly entered its airspace, and Poland tracked several Russian drones entering its airspace and engaged them.

Polish and Estonian leaders requested consultations with the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s 32 ambassadors, as outlined in Article 4 of the alliance’s founding document. Article 4 allows for NATO allies to confer with one another.

NATO forces engaged the drones in Polish airspace, which marked the first time NATO troops engaged possible threats in allied airspace.

After the incursion into Poland and before those in Estonia and Romania, NATO announced the launch of “Eastern Sentry” to bring additional weapons to the alliance’s eastern flank.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in New York, and he affirmed, when asked, that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace.

“While this was the largest concentration of violations of NATO airspace that we have seen, what happened on Wednesday was not an isolated incident. Russia’s recklessness in the air along our eastern flank is frequently increasing. We have seen drones violate our airspace in Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on September 12. “Whether intentional or not, it is dangerous and unacceptable.”

The United States has publicly supported its NATO allies and criticized the Russian incursions.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke with his Estonian counterpart, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur, on Monday.

“Secretary Hegseth affirmed the Department of War stands with all NATO allies and that any incursion into NATO airspace is unacceptable,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. “The Secretary commended the quick response by European allies’ air defenses, stating it showed NATO at its best, ready and focused on their core mission.”

LIVE UPDATES: WORLD LEADERS GATHER IN NEW YORK FOR 2025 UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Trump, on Tuesday, struck a remarkably different tone on the conflict, saying that upon new information, he believes Ukraine has the capability to recapture the land, roughly 20% of Ukraine, that Russia currently occupies. It’s unclear, however, if his new stance will also result in a policy shift.

The U.S. leader has sought since the start of his second term in January to find a way to negotiate an end to the war. At times, he’s been critical of both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. However, his relationship with Zelensky has seemingly improved since the infamous Oval Office fight between him and Trump. In contrast, Trump’s relationship with Putin has seemingly strained over his refusal to meaningfully engage in diplomacy.