RAF’s first aircraft deployed to secure Polish airspace after Russian drone breachOn The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchDonald Trump has said the US would come to the defence of Poland and the Baltic states if Russia were to attack in future.Asked by reporters whether Washington would come to the aid of the Nato members if Russia were to continue escalating, he replied: “Yeah I would.”His comments follow a number of incursions from Moscow in Nato territory. In the past fortnight, Russian drones and fighter jets have entered Estonian, Polish and Romanian air space – drawing international condemnation. Under Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, the US would be obliged to assist Poland, Estonia and Romania in the event of a Russian attack as military action against one member is considered an attack against all members.Last week, Trump said the drone and fighter jet incursions could spell “big trouble” in an indication that he is becoming increasingly frustrated with Russia’s actions. However, he has not outlined plans to respond. Czech president Petr Pavel has said Nato forces must shoot down Russian jets if necessary, demanding a more forceful response to Moscow’s repeated violations of the alliance’s airspace.Nato North Atlantic Council to discuss Russian incursionNato’s North Atlantic Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss Russia’s violation of Estonian airspace, two officials familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, specifying the date that so far has only been described as early next week.Tallinn said three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace without permission on Friday and stayed for a total of 12 minutes before they were forced to withdraw.Estonia requested consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty after the incident that it described as an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion.Article 4 states that Nato members will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.Russia’s Defence Ministry denied its jets violated Estonian airspace, saying they flew over neutral waters.With tensions already high because of the war in Ukraine, the incursion came just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on the night of September 9-10.That prompted Nato jets to down some of them and Western officials to say Russia was testing the alliance’s readiness and resolve.Alex Croft22 September 2025 03:30Russian jets over Estonia ‘ignored signals from NATO pilots’Russian military aircraft violated Estonian airspace on Friday, ignoring signals from Italian jets on NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission, a senior Estonian military official confirmed.The 12-minute incursion represents the latest test of the alliance’s response to Russian airborne threats, following around 20 Russian drones entering Polish airspace on 10 September.Russia’s Defence Ministry denied the breach, but Tallinn dismissed this, citing radar and visual confirmation. Officials suggested the incident could be a tactic to divert Western resources from Ukraine.Alex Croft22 September 2025 02:02Two killed and four injured in Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Belgorod regionTwo civilians were killed and four injured in Russia’s Belgorod region in Ukrainian attacks, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram on Sunday.We earlier reported Gladkov’s statement that one woman died when a shell hit a private house in the settlement of Shebekino.In an update, another man was killed in a drone attack on Rakitnoe, he said.Belgorod region has come under regular attack from Kyiv’s forces since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.Alex Croft22 September 2025 00:29Kremlin accuses Britain of leading Europe’s party of warThe Kremlin was quoted as saying on Sunday that Britain was one of the leaders of the camp which wants to continue the war in Ukraine, Russian state news agency RIA reported.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that attempts by Western powers to increase the pressure on Russia would not work and would not help attempts to end the war.Alex Croft21 September 2025 23:30Trump says US would come to Poland and Baltic states’ defence if Russia attacksDonald Trump has said the US would come to the defence of Poland and the Baltic states if Russia continued to escalate its attacks.Speaking to reporters ahead of Charlie Kirk’s funeral, the US president was asked by reporters: “Will you help defend Poland and the Baltic states from Russia if Russia keeps escalating?”“Yeah, I would,” Trump responded.It follows increased incursions from Moscow in Nato territory, after Russian drones and fighter jets have entered Estonian, Polish and Romanian air space in recent weeks. Bryony Gooch21 September 2025 21:58UK flies fighter jets over Poland in warning shot to PutinThe UK has sent fighter jets to Poland in a clear warning shot to Vladimir Putin that Western nations will not tolerate Russia’s repeated incursions into Nato territory.The RAF Typhoons took part in a Nato operation to bolster European security after Russia provoked global outrage when its jets flew into Estonian airspace on Friday.Defence secretary John Healey said the use of British fighter planes sent “a clear signal: Nato airspace will be defended”.Alex Croft21 September 2025 21:33Watch: RAF’s first aircraft deployed to secure Polish airspace after Russian drone breachRAF’s first aircraft deployed to secure Polish airspace after Russian drone breachAlex Croft21 September 2025 20:29Vietnam wins Intervision, Russia’s Eurovision rivalVietnam was crowned the winner of the Russian-hosted Intervision song contest in the early hours of Sunday morning, a competition backed by president Vladimir Putin and conceived as a geopolitical and socially conservative rival to Eurovision.Putin in February ordered the revival of Intervision, a Soviet-era regional musical contest based on “traditional family values” after Moscow was excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 following Putin’s decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.Kyiv has called the event “an instrument of hostile propaganda”.Shown live on Russian TV and broadcast across parts of Asia, Africa, South America and Europe, Intervision was held at an arena outside Moscow with singers hailing from more than 20 countries accounting for 4 billion people, half the world’s population, including China, India and Brazil.Vietnam’s Duc Phuc, whose song was based on a folktale about a king famous for repelling an enemy army, was crowned the strongest act by a jury made up of participating countries.Russia Intervision Music (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Alex Croft21 September 2025 19:32Russian fighter jet incursions in Estonia and drones in Poland: How the war in Ukraine is already a European conflictDonald Trump has warned that a third Russian incursion into Nato airspace, in which three fighter jet spent 12 minutes in Estonian airspace, could spell “big trouble” for Moscow.It is the latest in a series of provocations by the Russian military, which has repeatedly sent drones into Poland and Romania as Moscow argues that Nato is already “fighting against Russia”.“Nato is providing direct and indirect support to the Kyiv regime,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “It can be said with absolute certainty that Nato is fighting against Russia.”Alex Croft21 September 2025 18:34NATO articles 4 and 5 explained as North Atlantic Council set to meet in Estonia next weekWhat is Article 4?NATO Article 4 has now been triggered nine times in the past 75 years, two of which have occurred in less than two weeks.The organisation has called a meeting in Estonia early next week to discuss Russia’s incursion into Estonia’s airspace on Friday. The meeting comes after Estonia requested consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty.Article 4 states that members of NATO can bring an issue forward for the North Atlantic Council, the organisation’s principal political decision-making body, to consult. The parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.Since NATO was established in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked nine times, including today’s request. On 10 September, it was triggered by Poland after Polish forces shot down 19 drones over its airspace.Article 5 states that “the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.”If members decided that Russia had attacked the territory of a member state, then Article 5 would be invoked and members would take the action they deemed necessary.Article 5 is the cornerstone of the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s founding treaty. When the treaty was created in 1949, its key aim was to counter the Soviet Union if it sought to extend its control of Eastern Europe.Alex Croft21 September 2025 17:52
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says US would defend Poland and Baltic states from Russian attack
