NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the Atlantic Alliance has "all response options" to counter Russia's hybrid threats, after Moscow struck a Ukrainian convoy near the Polish border with a drone. The attack occurred just minutes after Boris Johnson and several European security officials, including Jonathan Powell, the British National Security Advisor, had passed through the same railway section when returning from a conference in Kyiv.
The attack caused no casualties and revealed "how desperate Putin has become," according to Rutte, speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The aggression took place about two kilometers from the Polish border. Rutte emphasized that "some things will be visible to the public, others will not, for reasons we cannot always disclose," underlining that Russia is struggling in Ukraine and continues to launch "reckless and dangerous" attacks.
The previous week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also escaped a potential drone attack, when the aircraft transporting him to Oslo "was nearly hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova."
Rutte announced that the European allies' response will include "increasing support for Ukraine," ensuring that Kyiv has all the means necessary to defend itself. The official also reiterated the importance of member states reaching the defense spending target of 3.5% of GDP, arguing that "this is not a number pulled out of thin air," but something rooted in NATO's deterrence planning.
