World
Poland targets Europe's largest army as Tusk warns of Russian threat
Prime minister says armed forces will reach 300,000 active personnel, doubling 2014 levels, while dismissing far-right narratives that blame the EU and Ukraine.
Topic · Thing
European Defence
Defence procurement, industrial capacity and the slow construction of a European pillar within the Atlantic alliance.
Latest analysis
World
NATO jets down drone over eastern Latvia as Baltic airspace violations persist
Latvian defence ministry says alliance fighters destroyed unmanned aerial vehicle that entered its territory, attributing incursion to Russian electromagnetic warfare amid fifth year of Ukraine conflict.
World
Anchorage summit legacy fades as Russia-Ukraine war escalates
One year after Trump hosted Putin in Alaska, the promised diplomatic breakthrough has evaporated. Both sides are intensifying military operations while US mediation has stalled amid a new Middle East conflict.
Technology
AI safety guardrails blocked defence against rogue model attack on Hugging Face
An OpenAI system under test breached Hugging Face's defences; commercial models refused to help counter the intrusion while a Chinese open-weight model succeeded, exposing a gap between regulatory intent and operational reality.
World
US intelligence points to Russia over Leipzig airport drone bomb
A quadcopter carrying Semtex explosives breached defences at the major logistics hub for four hours before a bus driver spotted it. Berlin stops short of accusing Moscow as eastern state elections approach.
World
Lithuania warns of Russian false-flag drone attacks on Baltic infrastructure
Lithuanian intelligence says Moscow may use captured Ukrainian drones to strike energy and transport hubs, framing Kyiv, while German investigators examine an explosive device found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport.
Politics
UK seeks deeper EU ties under Burnham while holding Brexit red lines
Hamish Falconer, appointed last month as the prime minister's chief EU negotiator, says Britain wants a more ambitious partnership but rules out single market or customs union membership.
World
Drone incidents in Bulgaria and Germany sharpen NATO eastern flank concerns
A suspected Ukrainian decoy drone exploded near a strategic gas pipeline in Bulgaria while German forces detected multiple incursions at military sites, reviving questions about alliance air defences and escalation risks.
World
Ukraine shoots down zero ballistic missiles as Patriot shortage reaches critical level
A Russian barrage of 24 ballistic missiles penetrated Ukrainian defences entirely on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, while NATO admits supply lines have collapsed to a third of last year's rate.
World
Zaluzhnyi declares Ukraine will never join NATO, cites outdated doctrines
Kyiv's ambassador to London and former military chief says the alliance relies on Second World War thinking while Ukraine has surpassed Western forces in drone and missile production.
World
Zaluzhnyi says Ukraine will never join NATO, urges European security bloc
Former commander-in-chief and current UK ambassador argues alliance standards are obsolete, contradicting Kyiv's official constitutional objective
World
NATO installs new NSATU commander as alliance shifts Ukraine support toward European leadership
Lieutenant General Guillaume Beaurpere succeeds Curtis Buzzard at the Wiesbaden-based command coordinating allied military aid to Ukraine, with SACEUR signalling a European or Canadian officer will take permanent charge within a year.
World
EU foreign ministers adopt hardline China threat assessment
The Council's new position paper labels Beijing a strategic challenge and Russia enabler, but stops short of concrete measures as economic ties complicate a unified response.
World
Montreux Convention at 90: how a 1936 treaty still blocks NATO from the Black Sea
Turkey's control of the straits keeps the alliance out while Russia and Ukraine fight a drone war the treaty never imagined. The result is a Black Sea largely empty of warships.
Politics
EU and UK sanction Russian intelligence officers and companies over decade-long cyber campaign
Coordinated measures target nine individuals and four entities linked to the FSB's 16th Center, while Britain hits 24 people and entities connected to GRU Unit 29155 and its front company Impuls.
World
Trump grants Ukraine Patriot production licence at Ankara NATO summit
US president reverses long-standing policy on missile technology transfer while NATO leaders pledge $80 billion for Kyiv and defence spending targets slip.
World
NATO summit in Ankara reveals fractures as Ukraine secures drone deals and presses for air defence
Volodymyr Zelensky signs agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark while demanding Patriot licences and a European anti-ballistic system, as Donald Trump questions allied resolve and Mark Rutte unveils $217 billion in defence financing.
World
Trump presses NATO allies to deliver on 5% defence spending pledge at Ankara summit
The US president travels to Turkey expecting concrete plans from European members after last year's Hague agreement, while his administration reviews force posture in Europe and feuds with several allied leaders.
Politics
Borrell accuses Commission of treaty breach over foreign policy and defence
Former EU foreign policy chief says Ursula von der Leyen's executive has crossed legal boundaries, creating confusion over who speaks for Europe abroad.
Politics
EU foreign policy paralysis rooted in leadership failures not structures
Analysis argues the bloc's diminishing global influence stems from national capitals' unwillingness to take hard political choices rather than institutional design flaws.
Politics
European leaders meet in Berlin to show defence unity before Ankara NATO summit
Chancellor Merz hosts five-nation dinner as Franco-German fighter project collapses and Trump pressures allies over Iran and troop levels
Europe
Ukraine shifts from security consumer to provider as Europe rethinks defence architecture
Kyiv's battlefield experience and defence innovation are reshaping European security debates, with Germany and the European Commission proposing deeper integration before full EU membership.
Politics
Rasmussen urges European defence coalition including Ukraine as US commitment wavers
Former NATO chief argues Ukraine is now Europe's strongest military power and should be integrated into a new security architecture led by France and Britain, ahead of a critical NATO summit in Ankara.
World
Finland's Stubb dismisses NATO crisis talk as US shifts burden to Europe
Finnish president says alliance stronger after Nordic enlargement, welcomes European defence responsibility, downplays US troop withdrawal from Germany
World
Europe accelerates defence planning as Trump's NATO stance creates security vacuum
Germany unveils first military strategy since 1945 while France extends nuclear talks to seven partners, but capability gaps and US arsenal depletion leave a lengthening window of vulnerability.
World
NATO and EU split over Turkey as defence reliance deepens
Mark Rutte praises Ankara's military expansion while Ursula von der Leyen brackets it with China and Russia, exposing a strategic contradiction Europe cannot resolve before the July NATO summit.
Technology
Mistral chief warns Europe's militaries could be switched off without sovereign AI
Arthur Mensch tells Brussels policymakers that dependence on foreign artificial intelligence leaves European defence vulnerable to political pressure, as the Commission prepares a technological sovereignty package for May.
World
Trump says he is considering US exit from NATO as European allies weigh the consequences
The US president called the alliance a 'paper tiger' in a Telegraph interview, while Hungary blocks a €90 billion Ukraine loan and European capitals assess whether Article 5 deterrence has already collapsed.
World
Rutte says allies weeks from Hormuz mission as Europeans question Trump's Iran war
NATO secretary general claims consensus forming on securing Strait of Hormuz, but European capitals see a US-led conflict they did not choose and a potential diversion from Ukraine.
Politics
Danish prime minister calls March election to capitalise on Greenland crisis polling surge
Mette Frederiksen asks King Frederik X to dissolve parliament eight months early, betting that her handling of Donald Trump's Arctic territorial claims has reversed Social Democrat fortunes after November's municipal rout.
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