Selim Ibraimi- Russian drones have been spotted again over NATO airports. Russia’s provocations have not stopped. Meanwhile, NATO has yet to find an appropriate response to Russia. This time, military bases were also affected. Days ago, Copenhagen’s main airport was closed.
Of all the recent Russian activities on NATO’s eastern flank, the drones are more than just a mistake by Moscow. As Russian drones continue to violate NATO members’ airspace, the alliance remains divided in its response to Russia. US Treasury Secretary Scott Beseetn urged Europe to do more.
“The Ukraine-Russia war is in their own backyard,” Beseetn said during an interview with Fox News. Meanwhile, ambiguities and differences between NATO members emerged in different forms last week in Brussels. The debate among alliance members culminated in an emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC). Officials from several countries, including Poland and Estonia, wanted the joint statement by NATO members against Russia to clarify that “any further violations by Russian military drones, including those by manned aircraft, will be met with force.”
Other alliance members expressed hesitation about whether the statement should contain harsh language toward Moscow. CNN reported that the top U.S. general in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, was not rushing the issue, but was giving some alliance members more time. He said the Russian incursion into Estonia was likely accidental, given the inexperience and inadequate training of Russian pilots. The differences during the North Atlantic Council meeting continued, as the Baltic states and Poland insisted that NATO finally take concrete action against Russia. In the end, it was decided that the final declaration, adopted by all 32 member states of the alliance, should be balanced. The declaration states: “NATO and its allies will use, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military means to defend themselves and to deter all threats from all directions.”
“We will continue to respond in a manner and at a time of our own choosing.” Some NATO countries, especially those on the alliance’s eastern flank, starting with Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, think a little differently than other members that do not border Russia. The aforementioned states consider the Russian threats to be serious. Officials in the Baltic states believe that Russia must face consequences for its dangerous behavior. In this regard, Czech President Petr Pavel said last Tuesday that Russia should be responded to appropriately, including possibly shooting down Russian aircraft.
However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius strongly opposed falling into Russia’s “escalation trap” and called for calm in NATO’s response. On the other hand, official Warsaw has reacted by announcing that Poland will defend its territory.
“It will no longer allow Russian drones to continue to violate Polish airspace. Poland will always react adequately and is ready to defend its territory,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki said during an appearance at the UN, adding that “the Polish people, as well as the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, are not afraid of Russian drones.” Russian officials have denied involvement with drones.
During a press conference, Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the accusations of Russian involvement were unfounded. Peskov said that making unfounded accusations repeatedly only leads to the fact that such statements should no longer be taken seriously. US President Donald Trump said that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their territory. It is not clear whether such statements from Washington could be signs of a change in US policy towards Russia or not. Washington and its European allies have so far not resolved this dilemma, which is a major obstacle for NATO to respond to Russia. Russian officials have stated that any NATO attack on Russian military aircraft would mean a NATO war against Russia.
Although the security situation in and around the Baltics has deteriorated, three decades after the Dayton Agreement (1995), the Balkans are still vulnerable to external actors. Serbia, a non-NATO and EU member state, is seen as a country that could incite conflicts in the region. Belgrade officials have denied accusations that Serbia is a destabilizing state. Kosovo authorities have said that drones from Serbia have been seen in Kosovo.
In southern Europe, in the Balkans, airspace can be easily violated due to the lack of air forces and other defensive capabilities, e.g., Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro, although members NATO members depend on collective security, and in the event of war, their armies are unprepared for a large-scale conflict. Despite their overall contribution to NATO and national defense, the armies and other branches should not be completely dependent on the collective strategy.
Russian activities in the Baltics show that such provocations could one day occur anywhere in the airspace of alliance member states and friendly ones. To avoid being caught unprepared, European powers and NATO members in the Balkans should think now before it is too late tomorrow. The stalemate in political and security issues in NATO could affect the effectiveness of defending not only the alliance’s reputation, but also the West.
The debate on how to deal with Russia must end with a clear policy and concrete steps from NATO. In this regard, German media have reported that NATO has begun a three-day military exercise called “Red Storm Bravo.” It is considered the largest exercise since the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989). If this is the response against Russia, then it will take more than a military exercise to test the alliance’s capacity. Next week’s meeting in Denmark remains the first step in whether NATO officials will agree on more measures against Russia.
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2025-09-29