Russia–Ukraine War and NATO

Estonia and Latvia say Russian military drones crossed from Russia into their territory on Wednesday, with Estonia’s Internal Security Service reporting a drone striking the chimney of a power station and Latvia’s armed forces confirming another Russian drone crashed on its soil without causing damage. The incursions followed what Ukraine’s Air Force called one of Russia’s largest aerial attacks since the full‑scale invasion began, with nearly 1,000 drones launched since Monday evening and more than 550 on Tuesday afternoon alone, many targeting western regions near NATO borders. In Lviv, roughly 40 miles from Poland, city officials say Shahed drones hit a building next to a church and a residential block, wounding 22 people, while a maternity hospital in nearby Ivano‑Frankivsk was also damaged. NATO members recorded 18 Russian airspace violations in 2025, three times the number in 2024, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling the pattern an escalation that threatens all of Europe and says the Trump administration’s recent relaxation of oil sanctions is emboldening Moscow. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha publicly likened Russia’s strikes on civilian infrastructure to Iran’s attacks across the Persian Gulf, arguing both should be met with increased pressure rather than what he called Western “weakness.”