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Russia From Stalin to Putin: Why Europe’s Centre-Right Sees a Disturbing Continuity
Eighty-five years after the Soviet Union carried out the mass deportations that scarred the Baltic states and reshaped Eastern Europe, European politicians are drawing uncomfortable parallels between the crimes of the Stalinist era and Vladimir Putin’s conduct in Ukraine. The…
Swiss Patriot delays put European air-defence alternatives back in focus
Switzerland is weighing European alternatives to the US-made Patriot air-defence system after delivery delays reopened a wider debate over dependence on American missile-defence technology. The issue has moved beyond a national procurement problem. It now sits within a larger European…
Europe’s FCAS Fighter Jet Ambitions Crash Into National Rivalries
Europe’s aspirations for greater strategic autonomy suffered a significant setback this week as France and Germany effectively abandoned plans to jointly develop a next-generation combat aircraft, bringing an end to years of increasingly acrimonious negotiations over the Future Combat Air…
Belgium Unveils €3.7bn Plan to Build Next Generation Defence Industry
Belgium is embarking on one of the most ambitious defence-industrial initiatives in its modern history, committing €3.7bn over the next nine years to military innovation as European governments race to strengthen their security capabilities amid a rapidly deteriorating geopolitical landscape.…
Moldova Drone Incident Highlights Air-Defence Gap on Ukraine’s Border
Moldovan authorities said fragments of a Ukrainian drone with traces of an explosion were found on Monday in a field near the eastern village of Lopatna, close to the border with Ukraine, in another incident exposing the country’s vulnerability to…
NATO Jets Shoot Down Drone After Latvian Airspace Alert
NATO fighter aircraft shot down a drone over eastern Latvia on Monday after the aircraft entered Latvian airspace from Russia, according to Latvian military statements cited in regional reporting on the incident. The alert affected several eastern municipalities and added…
London Ukraine Talks Expose Europe’s Missile Defence Problem
European leaders used their London meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to underline the need to expand Ukraine’s protection against Russian ballistic missiles, but the statement also exposed a wider European capability problem. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Zelenskyy, French President…
NATO Pushes Further North as Arctic Security Takes Centre Stage
NATO has launched a new initiative aimed at strengthening its operational awareness in the Arctic, underlining how rapidly the High North has moved from a peripheral concern to a central theatre in the alliance’s strategic calculations. The departure of the…
NATO cyber exercise shows Europe is still learning how to fight AI-backed disruption
A NATO cyber simulation in Poland has shown how quickly attacks on energy, banking and public information systems can merge into a single crisis, with allied officials testing responses to a Russia-style campaign shaped by Ukraine’s wartime experience. The three-day…
London Ukraine meeting tests whether Europe can turn support into security guarantees
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany are meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London in a renewed attempt to coordinate European support for Ukraine and define the security guarantees that could underpin any future settlement with Russia. The talks, hosted…