Donald 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.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has called for “strong sanctions” against Moscow before heading to New York for a meeting with Trump, who said on Friday the drone incursions could spell “big trouble” as he grows increasingly dismayed with Vladimir Putin’s actions.
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.
“Russia will realise very quickly that they have made a mistake and crossed the acceptable boundaries,” Mr Pavel said according to the Czech News Agency.
Kremlin 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 23:30
Trump 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 21:58
UK 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 21:33
Watch: 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 20:29
Vietnam 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 19:32
Russian 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.”
Read the full report:
Alex Croft21 September 2025 18:34
NATO 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.
What is Article 5?
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
US senators seek sanctions to sink Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’Republican and Democratic senators are seeking a bill which would target Russia’s “shadow fleet”.
The “Sanctioning Harbors and Dodgers of Western Sanctions,” or SHADOW Fleets Act, would provide a list of indicators the US could use to identify vessels supporting the fleet, making it easier to sanction them sooner.
It would also put in place strict sanctions liability for any ship that engages in a transfer with a sanctioned Russian vessel.
US Senator Jim Risch said: “Putin will use every trick in the book to evade U.S. sanctions, and the U.S. is cracking down on this illicit shadow fleet of ships that he uses to fund his war.
“These ships and the oil sales they facilitate directly threaten American and European security, and will be stopped.”
Alex Croft21 September 2025 17:08
Watch: Vladimir Putin observes joint military exercise with BelarusVladimir Putin observes joint military exercise with BelarusAlex Croft21 September 2025 16:30
UK to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine war effort as world condemns Putin over Estonia incursionFrozen Russian assets could be used to fund billions of pounds worth of Ukraine’s war effort, Rachel Reeves will announce.
The chancellor will say it is the “right to explore all options to support Ukraine”, at a meeting with her European counterparts in Copenhagen on Saturday.
It comes after Russia provoked global outrage when its jets flew into Estonian airspace on Friday.
The Independent’s Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin with the full report:
Alex Croft21 September 2025 15:50
