Russia’s Overnight Barrage Hammers Ukraine—and Violates NATO Airspace
Russia’s largest aerial assault this month struck Ukraine and pierced NATO airspace, highlighting just how hollow Article 5 looks when tested
Hot Take | Russia’s Massive Overnight Barrage Exposes NATO’s Weakness
Russia unleashed its largest aerial assault of the month overnight, firing 574 drones and 40 missiles across Ukraine. Strikes tore into western regions, including Lviv and even a U.S.-owned manufacturing plant in the trans-Carpathian region. As of late afternoon, around 20 people were reported injured in the western city of Mukachevo. And in Lviv, one person died and at least two were injured.
But what’s most alarming: NATO airspace was breached—twice.
A Russian drone slammed into a Polish cornfield just 100 km from Warsaw, carving a six-meter crater. Meanwhile in Lithuania, drones entering from Belarus forced a no-fly zone and emergency responses after crash-landing inside its borders.
Let’s be clear: these are serious violations of NATO sovereignty. And yet, from Brussels, only a whimper. No strong statement. No visible consequences. Which raises a stark question—if NATO won’t act when its skies are pierced, how credible is Article 5?
This is exactly the kind of weakness Putin thrives on. He tests limits, probes for soft spots, and finds gray lines where red lines should be. Each unpunished incursion into NATO territory emboldens him further. The result? An alliance that risks looking toothless and laughable in the eyes of Moscow—and the rest of the world.
A Russian military drone crashed in eastern Poland early Wednesday, jolting NATO’s eastern flank just as Western leaders struggle to advance fragile peace efforts with Moscow over Ukraine. The unmanned aircraft slammed into a cornfield near the village of Osiny, about 100 kilometers southeast of Warsaw. Local footage published by LukowTV showed a flash of light followed by a loud blast, which shattered windows in nearby homes. No injuries were reported, though police said the crash left a 6-meter-wide crater. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz accused Russia of "once again provoking NATO states.” Warsaw informed its NATO allies of the incident.
Lithuania's Defense Ministry told the Reuters news agency on Thursday that it had imposed a no-fly zone along part of its border with Belarus, near its capital Vilnius. The move comes after several drones crash-landed in Lithuania's after entering its air space from this direction. "This was done with regard to the security situation and the threats to society, including risks to civil aviation due to airspace violations by unpiloted aircraft," a Defense Minister spokesperson said in an email to Reuters. It said the no-fly zone would allow the armed forces to react to possible future incursions, and that aircraft in the designated zone face the "risk of interception and/or engagement in the event of penetration." Lithuania's capital Vilnius is roughly 30 kilometers (around 18.5 miles) from its 679-kilometer shared border with close Russian ally Belarus - DW
The head of the Office of the President, Andrij Yermak, stated that the Ukrainian authorities are not considering the possibility of holding a referendum on amending the Constitution to recognize the Russian occupation. In an interview with the Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, he said: "We are not doing this (referring to the referendum), and currently we have no intention of conceding any part of our land. But today we are realistic and know that the aggressor has occupied some regions, and for now we cannot liberate them by force…Winning a war without striking the aggressor country is very difficult, if not impossible. It's like a sports team with excellent defense that is forbidden to play offense.” - Suspilne
A Ukrainian citizen suspected of participating in the undersea explosions in 2022 that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany has been arrested, German prosecutors said on Thursday. The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested overnight in Italy’s Rimini province, federal prosecutors said. They added that he is believed to be one of the coordinators of the operation. In a statement, the German prosecutors' office confirmed the arrest, saying the "accused was allegedly one of the coordinators of the operation." Explosions on 26 September 2022 damaged the pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea - Euronews
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched his plan to expand the Israeli military’s operation in Gaza City, despite widespread opposition from within Israel and international condemnation. The Israeli military began calling medical officials and international organizations in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday to encourage them to evacuate the area ahead of the expanded operation. It comes the day after the military announced the call-up of 60,000 reservists and the extension of 20,000 reservists currently serving to support the expanded operation. Netanyahu is expected to give his final approval for the operation during a security cabinet meeting Thursday night, according to an official who was not authorized to speak to the media. The approval comes as at least 36 Palestinians were killed in strikes in central and southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to local hospitals, and people protested in Israel and Gaza. Israeli troops are already operating in the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood and in Jabaliya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, to prepare the groundwork for the expanded operation, which could begin within days. The planned offensive, announced earlier this month, comes during heightened international condemnation of Israel’s restrictions on food and medicine reaching Gaza and fears that many Palestinians will be forced to flee - AP
Gaza’s Health Ministry has recorded two deaths “due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours”, raising the total number of hunger-related deaths in the enclave over the course of Israel’s war on Gaza to 271, including 112 children. Dr Suhaib al-Hams, the director of the Kuwait Specialty Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, has spoken to Al Jazeera Arabic about the challenges facing the hospital amid the ongoing Israeli attacks in the enclave. “We are forced to choose between the sick and the injured, depending on their health condition. With our limited resources, we cannot handle the large number of infected people. We discriminate between patients due to the scarcity of medicines and the unavailability of the necessary surgical tools.” - Al Jazeera
Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Tibet’s capital, sending signals both of his own health and of Beijing’s insistence that it will control the choice of a successor to the Dalai Lama. Some China watchers have suggested that Xi is either ailing or losing his grip on power, pointing to a prolonged period of absence from the public eye in recent months, but the visit to Lhasa, Xi’s first since 2021, “should put to rest any rumors,” Bill Bishop wrote in his Sinocism newsletter. And while the Dalai Lama, the 90-year-old leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said last month that the search for his successor would not be influenced by China, Beijing has insisted that it will oversee the reincarnation.
New data confirms that far fewer Canadians are making trips south to the United States. Canadian residents made just 1.7 million return trips by motor vehicle back into their country from the U.S. in July, a nearly 37% drop from the same month in 2024, according to a report published this month by Statistics Canada. The dip comes as relations are strained between the U.S. and Canada after President Trump vowed to make Canada a U.S. state earlier this year and imposed steep tariffs on his northern neighbor. Some worried that the tough political rhetoric — combined with a strong U.S. dollar — would damage an important source of U.S. tourism. Data released by the U.S. government confirms a similar slide in Canadian travel. Canadians made just over 7 million visits to the U.S. between January and May, according to statistics published by the International Trade Administration. That's a nearly 17% decrease compared with the same period in 2024, data shows. The U.S. Travel Association said in an emailed statement to NPR that its "latest view continues to show a decline in travel from Canadian residents to the United States, consistent with the recent Canadian data released." The U.S. saw 20.4 million visits from Canadians last year, making Canada the top source of international tourists to the United States, the U.S. Travel Association reported. The group said in February that those visits generated $20.5 billion in spending and supported 140,000 U.S. jobs - NPR
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