Latest news with #Kahl
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian drones test NATO's Article 5 defense guarantee ahead of Friday sanctions deadline
Days ahead of the U.S. preparing harsh new sanctions tied to the war in Ukraine, Russian Vladimir Putin, whether intentionally or just carelessly, has tested the political will of NATO's collective defense guarantee, Article 5. In recent days, drones launched from the Russian-aligned state of Belarus have pierced Lithuanian airspace, drawing alarms from the region's political and military leaders. One drone traversed approximately 100 kilometers, loitered ominously over Vilnius carrying two kilograms of explosives and ultimately crashed inside a military training zone. Earlier in July, another drone forced the evacuation of high-level officials when it crashed near the Šumskas border crossing. Simultaneously, Russian forces struck a Ukrainian gas depot located mere yards from Romania's border half a mile away, a strike that triggered warnings and prompted Romanian F‑16s to patrol the vicinity. Though these seem like isolated incidents, observers point to a troubling pattern. Russian drones have drifted — or perhaps even been directed — into NATO airspace before, and NATO's response has been muted. New Romanian Law May Have Averted Nato Clash With Russia After Border Strikes Andrew D'Anieri, associate director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, told Fox News Digital that while it isn't crystal clear whether Putin is openly testing Article 5, his apparent lack of caution about these actions is telling. Read On The Fox News App "The kind of alarming thing is, we haven't seen any real response from NATO to any of these," D'Anieri said. Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė, while stressing that there is no evidence suggesting the latest drone breached intentionally, said "this is an unprecedented and alarming incident," especially given that the drone flew just one kilometer from the president's residence. Describing the behavior as "reckless drone incursions," she warned they amount to "a direct test of NATO's resolve." In response, Lithuania has pledged to review its defensive protocols and urged NATO to bolster its air defenses as a clear message that the alliance stands ready to safeguard every inch of its territory. Romania, having endured repeated drone spillovers, passed a law this May empowering its forces to intercept or destroy unauthorized drones. As a result, no incursion occurred in connection with the latest strike near its border. Bruno Kahl, head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, has been sounding the alarm for months. In November 2024, Kahl cautioned that Russia's growing employment of hybrid tactics — ranging from sabotage and cyberattacks to disinformation — raises the likelihood that NATO may ultimately feel compelled to invoke Article 5. Nato Jets Scrambled Amid Russia's Largest Drone Attack On Ukraine More recently, his warnings intensified. In June 2025, he told the media that Moscow appears intent on putting NATO's unity and collective defense to the test. Kahl revealed that Russian officials seem to doubt whether the alliance would uphold Article 5 and might instead deploy covert measures — "little green men" or hybrid provocations — to probe NATO's response, rather than launching overt invasions. This perspective was echoed by former Lithuanian Ambassador Eitvydas Bajarūnas, who told Fox News Digital that even if the drone events weren't intentional, their psychological force is real. "This will be the future of war in Eastern Europe," he said. "We might not expect an immediate Russian attack, we might have Russia testing how institutions react, how the public reacts, even. Russia might use these even accidental drone incursions into Baltic airspace, to shore up public anxiety." Bajarunas too called for a whole of NATO response. "These are incursions into NATO territory. That's why we should not think of it only as a national response, but also allies, the response of the whole of NATO." Putin's hybrid probes, from drone flights to border strikes, may well mark the new battleground in Eastern Europe, where the test is not one of tanks or missiles, but of unity, readiness and political will. President Donald Trump gave Putin until Friday for a breakthrough in peace negotiations, after which he has promised to enact steep sanctions. Trump suggested this week he would target Putin's oil-backed war coffers. "Putin will stop killing people if you get energy down another $10 a barrel. He's going to have no choice because his economy stinks," the president told CNBC's "Squawk Box." Still, the president remained optimistic about negotiations after his envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Russia to meet with Putin. "Great progress was made!" Trump promised. "Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come." The Kremlin has claimed Trump and Putin will soon meet face-to-face for negotiations for the first time in this article source: Russian drones test NATO's Article 5 defense guarantee ahead of Friday sanctions deadline Solve the daily Crossword
Leader Live
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
EU diplomat warns that Russia has a plan for long-term aggression against Europe
'Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. She listed a series of Russian airspace violations, provocative military exercises, and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables. Ms Kallas noted that Russia is already spending more on defence than the EU's 27 nations combined, and this year will invest more 'on defence than its own healthcare, education and social policy combined'. 'This is a long-term plan for a long-term aggression. You don't spend that much on (the) military, if you do not plan to use it,' Ms Kallas told EU politicians in Strasbourg, France. 'Europe is under attack and our continent sits in a world becoming more dangerous,' she added. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has said that Russia is producing as much weapons and ammunition in three months as the 32 allies together make in a year. He believes that Russia could be in a position to launch an attack on a Nato ally by the end of the decade. The acts of sabotage and cyber attacks are mostly aimed at undermining European support for Ukraine, military officers and experts have said. But concern is mounting in Europe that Russia could try to test Nato's Article 5 security guarantee — the pledge that an attack on any one of the allies would be met with a collective response from all 32. In 2021, Nato allies acknowledged that significant and cumulative cyber attacks might, in certain circumstances, also be considered an armed attack that could lead them to invoke Article 5, but so far no action has been taken. With the Trump administration now turning its sights on security challenges in the Middle East and China, Europe has been left to fend for itself, and for Ukraine, and finds itself in a more precarious position. Last week, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND), Bruno Kahl, warned against underestimating Russian intentions toward the West and Nato. 'We are very certain, and we have intelligence evidence for this, that Ukraine is just a step on the path to the West,' Mr Kahl told the Table Today podcast on June 9, according to German news agency dpa. Russia's goal is to expand its sphere of influence westward, the BND chief said. 'They want to catapult Nato back to the state it was in at the end of the 1990s. They want to kick America out of Europe, and they'll use any means to achieve that,' Mr Kahl said. He warned that 'this must be nipped in the bud,' and that deterrence is the 'most bloodless way' to prevent war. Nato countries are set to agree a new defence investment pledge at a summit in the Netherlands next week, pouring billions of dollars more into security-related spending.
18-06-2025
- Politics
EU's top diplomat warns Russia has a plan for long-term aggression against Europe
BRUSSELS -- Russia poses a direct threat to the European Union through acts of sabotage and cyberattacks, but its massive military spending suggests that President Vladimir Putin also plans to use his armed forces elsewhere in the future, the EU's top diplomat warned on Wednesday. 'Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. She listed a series of Russian airspace violations, provocative military exercises, and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables. Kallas noted that Russia is already spending more on defense than the EU's 27 nations combined, and this year will invest more 'on defense than its own health care, education and social policy combined.' 'This is a long-term plan for a long-term aggression. You don't spend that much on (the) military, if you do not plan to use it,' Kallas told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France. 'Europe is under attack and our continent sits in a world becoming more dangerous,' she added. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said that Russia is producing as much weapons and ammunition in three months as the 32 allies together make in a year. He believes that Russia could be in a position to launch an attack on a NATO ally by the end of the decade. The acts of sabotage and cyberattacks are mostly aimed at undermining European support for Ukraine, military officers and experts have said. But concern is mounting in Europe that Russia could try to test NATO's Article 5 security guarantee — the pledge that an attack on any one of the allies would be met with a collective response from all 32. In 2021, NATO allies acknowledged that significant and cumulative cyberattacks might, in certain circumstances, also be considered an armed attack that could lead them to invoke Article 5, but so far no action has been taken. With the Trump administration now turning its sights on security challenges in the Middle East and China, Europe has been left to fend for itself, and for Ukraine, and finds itself in a more precarious position. Last week, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND), Bruno Kahl, warned against underestimating Russian intentions toward the West and NATO. 'We are very certain, and we have intelligence evidence for this, that Ukraine is just a step on the path to the West,' Kahl told the Table Today podcast on June 9, according to German news agency dpa. Russia's goal is to expand its sphere of influence westward, the BND chief said. 'They want to catapult NATO back to the state it was in at the end of the 1990s. They want to kick America out of Europe, and they'll use any means to achieve that,' Kahl said. He warned that 'this must be nipped in the bud,' and that deterrence is the 'most bloodless way' to prevent war. NATO countries are set to agree a new defense investment pledge at a summit in the Netherlands next week, pouring billions of dollars more into security-related spending.
North Wales Chronicle
18-06-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
EU diplomat warns that Russia has a plan for long-term aggression against Europe
'Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. She listed a series of Russian airspace violations, provocative military exercises, and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables. Ms Kallas noted that Russia is already spending more on defence than the EU's 27 nations combined, and this year will invest more 'on defence than its own healthcare, education and social policy combined'. 'This is a long-term plan for a long-term aggression. You don't spend that much on (the) military, if you do not plan to use it,' Ms Kallas told EU politicians in Strasbourg, France. 'Europe is under attack and our continent sits in a world becoming more dangerous,' she added. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has said that Russia is producing as much weapons and ammunition in three months as the 32 allies together make in a year. He believes that Russia could be in a position to launch an attack on a Nato ally by the end of the decade. The acts of sabotage and cyber attacks are mostly aimed at undermining European support for Ukraine, military officers and experts have said. But concern is mounting in Europe that Russia could try to test Nato's Article 5 security guarantee — the pledge that an attack on any one of the allies would be met with a collective response from all 32. In 2021, Nato allies acknowledged that significant and cumulative cyber attacks might, in certain circumstances, also be considered an armed attack that could lead them to invoke Article 5, but so far no action has been taken. With the Trump administration now turning its sights on security challenges in the Middle East and China, Europe has been left to fend for itself, and for Ukraine, and finds itself in a more precarious position. Last week, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND), Bruno Kahl, warned against underestimating Russian intentions toward the West and Nato. 'We are very certain, and we have intelligence evidence for this, that Ukraine is just a step on the path to the West,' Mr Kahl told the Table Today podcast on June 9, according to German news agency dpa. Russia's goal is to expand its sphere of influence westward, the BND chief said. 'They want to catapult Nato back to the state it was in at the end of the 1990s. They want to kick America out of Europe, and they'll use any means to achieve that,' Mr Kahl said. He warned that 'this must be nipped in the bud,' and that deterrence is the 'most bloodless way' to prevent war. Nato countries are set to agree a new defence investment pledge at a summit in the Netherlands next week, pouring billions of dollars more into security-related spending.
Los Angeles Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
EU's top diplomat warns that Russia has a plan for long-term aggression against Europe
BRUSSELS — Russia poses a direct threat to the European Union through acts of sabotage and cyberattacks, but its massive military spending suggests that President Vladimir Putin also plans to use his armed forces elsewhere in the future, the EU's top diplomat warned on Wednesday. 'Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. She listed a series of Russian airspace violations, provocative military exercises, and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables. Kallas noted that Russia is already spending more on defense than the EU's 27 nations combined, and this year will invest more 'on defense than its own health care, education and social policy combined.' 'This is a long-term plan for a long-term aggression. You don't spend that much on (the) military, if you do not plan to use it,' Kallas told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France. 'Europe is under attack and our continent sits in a world becoming more dangerous,' she added. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said that Russia is producing as much weapons and ammunition in three months as the 32 allies together make in a year. He believes that Russia could be in a position to launch an attack on a NATO ally by the end of the decade. The acts of sabotage and cyberattacks are mostly aimed at undermining European support for Ukraine, military officers and experts have said. But concern is mounting in Europe that Russia could try to test NATO's Article 5 security guarantee — the pledge that an attack on any one of the allies would be met with a collective response from all 32. In 2021, NATO allies acknowledged that significant and cumulative cyberattacks might, in certain circumstances, also be considered an armed attack that could lead them to invoke Article 5, but so far no action has been taken. With the Trump administration now turning its sights on security challenges in the Middle East and China, Europe has been left to fend for itself, and for Ukraine, and finds itself in a more precarious position. Last week, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND), Bruno Kahl, warned against underestimating Russian intentions toward the West and NATO. 'We are very certain, and we have intelligence evidence for this, that Ukraine is just a step on the path to the West,' Kahl told the Table Today podcast on June 9, according to German news agency dpa. Russia's goal is to expand its sphere of influence westward, the BND chief said. 'They want to catapult NATO back to the state it was in at the end of the 1990s. They want to kick America out of Europe, and they'll use any means to achieve that,' Kahl said. He warned that 'this must be nipped in the bud,' and that deterrence is the 'most bloodless way' to prevent war. NATO countries are set to agree a new defense investment pledge at a summit in the Netherlands next week, pouring billions of dollars more into security-related spending. Cook writes for the Associated Press. Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin.
