The escalation of the war in Ukraine is dangerously close to NATO's borders, in a series of incidents that are being branded as "provocations" on both sides of the border: during the night, two Italian NATO Eurofighters were forced to take off to shoot down a drone that had violated Lithuanian airspace , with Defence Minister Guido Crosetto - on a mission over the Eastern Flank - casting his suspicions on Moscow, reporting that it was a Shahed-type aircraft.

Just a few hours later, the Danish military reported that a Russian frigate had fired two flares at its military helicopter off the country's coast, narrowly missing it . And in the evening, alarm was also raised in Germany, where authorities reported the discovery of drone fragments a short distance from the Wunstorf military base .

NATO's eastern border is no stranger to border encroachments: among the most serious was that of May 19, when NATO fighters shot down a Ukrainian UAV over Estonia for the first time. This time, the drone downed in Lithuania, which was carrying an explosive device , is suspected to have been of Russian origin. According to Crosetto, this incident highlights the "fundamental" importance of the Italian military on the Eastern Flank : after stressing from Warsaw that "defending Poland means defending Italy and Europe," the minister continued his mission in Lithuania, where he personally thanked the Italian fighter pilots who shot down the drone and emphasized that "peace is achieved through the capacity for collaboration between multiple countries."

A call for unity is more urgent than ever in the aftermath of the Russian attack on the train near the Polish border : in the past few hours, the Russian Defense Ministry released video of a new drone attack on the same border crossing that was struck on Sunday. Adding fuel to the fire was Putin's advisor, Nikolay Patrushev, who predicted that if Warsaw were to declare war on Russia, "the Polish state would cease to exist in two or three days."

As the conflict with Poland continues, the Baltics are heating up: on one side, Copenhagen announced it was summoning the Russian ambassador regarding the near-miss helicopter, which Danish authorities believe was carrying out a routine mission. For his part, the Russian diplomat denounced "provocative maneuvers" by the aircraft. This reconstruction does not convince EU institutions: "Once again, Europe has awakened to reckless and dangerous behavior" aimed at "testing our readiness and resolve. Russia will discover that our resolve is only growing stronger," Ursula von der Leyen made clear.

Tensions between Europe and Moscow are escalating as concrete developments on the diplomatic path await. Despite social media announcements, the energy truce remains a mirage : although the Kremlin has called Trump's proposal a "good idea," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed caution: "The most important thing is that statements translate into action."

Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Russia as "continuing to attack Ukrainian infrastructure" and gas stations, prompting Kiev to respond by claiming responsibility for the strikes on refineries in Sizran and drone facilities in Taganrog and Orlov.

(Unioneonline)

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