We will confront Russian planes in Nato airspace, UK foreign secretary says, and warns Putin risks armed clash – as it happened

Moldovan authorities said they carried out 250 raids and detained 74 people on Monday as part of an investigation into an alleged Russia-backed plan to incite “mass riots” and destabilise the country around a critical parliamentary election, according to AP.

The raids targeted more than 100 people and took place in multiple localities across the country, police said. 74 people were detained for up to 72 hours, said Victor Furtuna, Moldova’s chief prosecutor from the office for combating organised crime and special cases.

Moldovans will vote to choose a new 101-seat legislature on Sunday, in an election many view as a choice between Moldova’s continued path toward EU membership or closer ties with Russia.

Moldova’s police said that the unrest plot was “coordinated from the Russian Federation, through criminal elements”.

• UK and Polish foreign ministers warned Russia they were prepared to confront their planes in Nato airspace as they lead a group of European leaders at the UN security council criticising Russia for “reckless” behaviour and escalating tensions in the region after three fighter jets entered Estonian airspace on Friday (16:29, 16:34, 17:26, 17:35, 17:38, 17:46, 17:50).

• Poland’s Sikorski issued a stark warning to Russia telling Moscow “not to come to whine about it” if Poland shoots down its plane or missile next time it gets into Polish airspace, with the UK’s Cooper also saying that “if we need to confront planes operating in Nato airspace without permission, we will” (16:26, 17:31).

• Estonian foreign minister warned that Russia “has become a real threat to global peace and security,” as he countered Moscow’s attempt to play down the incident and stressed that “hard facts” showed a clear “violation of Estonian territory and sovereignty” by three armed and combat-ready fighter jets (17:19, 17:23).

• Danish foreign minister warned that “Russia’s neighbours, not unreasonably, fear they could be next” after Ukraine as he spoke of growing regional fears over Russia’s aggressive behaviour (16:18).

• But Russian representative focused on aggressively questioning evidence and attacking Europe by accusing it of “primitive hatred” of Russia, branding European leaders as “small time blinkered russophobes” guided by “paranoia … reaching heights never seen before” (16:51).

• New US ambassador and former national security adviser Mike Waltz insisted that the US and allies were determined to “defend every inch of Nato territory,” as he condemned the incident (17:10).

• In contrast, China refused to criticise Russia and instead appealed for “restraint” to “avoid misunderstandings and misjudgements” between the countries (16:38).

Dutch foreign minister, speaking on behalf of the three Benelux countries, also “condemns these violations in the strongest possible terms.”

“This is not an isolated incident. It cannot be ignored,” David van Weel says.

“This incident demonstrates that if Russia’s aggression remains unchecked, it is bound to repeat itself,” he warns.

Swedish foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, makes a very similar comment on behalf of the five Nordic states: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as does Latvian foreign minister Baiba Braže, speaking also on behalf of Lithuania.

“We will never accept Russia’s attempt to attack, dominate, intimidate or establish a sphere of influence over its neighbours. Empires are dead,” Braže said.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha is up next.

He warns that Russia will not stop here and likely try to provoke other countries.

“What’s next? Which other emergency meeting will we have to hold in the coming weeks? Who will be the next country dealing with Russia’s provocations?,” he asks.

He says:

“None of these developments were accidental. No. Moscow does this on purpose.

A country occupying a permanent seat in this council is destroying international peace and security it is supposed to maintain.”

He notes that “Europe is not at war with Russia, but Russia is at war with Europe, and the only way to safeguard peace is to respond with strength and unity.”

Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul is speaking now.

He also calls the Estonian incident “a dangerous escalation by Russia” and a “grave violation of international law.”

“This is not the behaviour of a state seeking to preserve global peace and security, but one of recklessly disregarding international norms,” he says, as he expresses solidarity with Estonia.

He makes a broader point, too:

“First, Russia’s ongoing aggression is not only directed against Ukraine and its people; rather, in its reckless behaviour, Russia poses serious danger to regional security as well as to global peace and stability.”

Poland’s Radosław Sikorski is up next.

He picks up on Kallas’s point, saying that “if these were accidents, why not immediately acknowledge them and apologise.”

“We have given Russia a pass in the past in such circumstances, but we have not heard any apologies, only lies,” he says.

He says “these breaches of airspace are suspect because they are an escalation of hybrid war which Russia has waged against the West for years,” listing “murders of politicians, journalists, human rights defenders and defectors, cyber-attacks against hospitals and financial institutions, arsons, including in Poland, UK and Lithuania, postal packages containing incendiary devices all over Europe, including Germany attacks on Ukrainian embassies, in addition to standard espionage and disinformation.”

He says “this council has a responsibility to send a clear message that such provocations will not be tolerated.”

He then turns directly to Russia, as he says:

“To the representatives of Russia, I have this to say: we know you don’t care for international law, and you are incapable of living in peace with your neighbours.

Your insane nationalism contains a lust for domination that will not cease until you realise that the age of empires is over and that your empire will not be rebuilt.

Every drone strike by the heroes of the armed forces of Ukraine, may God bless them, brings this day closer.”

In a stark warning to Russia, he says:

“We are peaceful democracies who have studiously avoided actively joining your attempt to reconquer Ukraine. But we will not be intimidated.

I have only one request to the Russian government: if another missile or aircraft enters our space without permission, deliberately or by mistake, and gets shot down and the wreckage falls on Nato territory, please don’t come here to whine about it.

You have been warned.”

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is up next. Remember, she was the Estonian prime minister between 2021 and 2024.

She says that “there is one country present here in this room, which is actively seeking to undermine the values and principles the nations of the United Nations have committed upholding."

She mocks Russian claims that its repeated violations of Nato airspace were accidental.

She says:

“The recent violation of Estonian airspace is unprecedented in both scale and recklessness. It was a deliberate provocation which could have ended with devastating results.

This comes after Russian violation of both Polish as well as Romanian airspace with drones a week earlier.

It cannot be that Russia accidentally violates three times in two weeks European airspace, and if it was accidentally, [it] was a mistake, there has been plenty of time for Russian Federation to apologise and say, sorry, we made a mistake.

Instead, we see a pattern. Russia is testing European borders, probing our resolve, undermining the security of the whole of Europe. Russia will continue to provoke, as long as we allow it.”

She adds:

“I say this openly to Russian representatives in this room: your government’s actions are reckless, dangerous and go against the very principles of the United Nations.”

Tsahkna is not pulling any punches in his comments, as he says that “Russia itself has become a real threat to global peace and security.”

He urges other security council members to “exercise collectively maximum pressure on Russia, forcing it to just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and forcing it to abandon its criminal, neocolonial and imperial ambitions.”

He says they can “hold Russia accountable for its crime of aggression against Ukraine, for the war crimes and crimes against humanity it has committed since 2014 and for its ongoing violations of international treaties and agreements, it has pledged to uphold.”

Impunity, appeasement and further concessions would only embolden Putin and put lead to new crimes.

Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna is speaking next, and he dismisses Russia’s criticism (16:51), saying Estonian record of the incident is based on “hard facts, based on solid evidence, whatever Russia is claiming.”

He shows a print out from Estonia’s air radar, showing a clear “violation of Estonian territory and sovereignty.”

He also shows closeup pictures of the Russian jets, stressing they all “carried missiles and were combat ready.”

“So what I want to say that violation is crystal clear, and Russia is lying again, as it has been lied before several times,” he says.

“We remember the occupation of Georgia in 2008, 2014 Crimea, 2022 aggression against Ukraine… So please don’t lie again. Hard evidence is here,” he says.

He then warns against the pattern of Russian violations and provocations, as he says this “dangerous behaviour cannot be tolerated” as it would “set very dangerous precedent encouraging further aggression, fueling regional and global tensions and ultimately endangering global peace and security.”

New US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, is next.

He says that “just nine days ago, this council met to discuss Russia’s violation of Poland’s airspace with a large number of military drones,” and urged Russia “to end the war in Ukraine and stop actions that could risk it escalating into a broader conflict.”

He says that despite that, Russia “again violated the airspace of a Nato member.”

He then says very clearly:

“The United States and our allies will defend every inch of Nato territory. Russia must urgently stop such dangerous behaviour.

He says the US expects Russia to “seek ways to de-escalate, not risk expansion.”

He then forcefully says:

“This event, following on the heels of the Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace creates the impression that Russia either wants to escalate and pull more countries into this conflict with Ukraine, or doesn’t have full control of those who operate its fighter planes and drones.

So either scenario is very disconcerting.”

He ends on a broader point:

“I once again urge Russia, as a permanent member of this Council, to uphold international peace and security, to respect the sovereignty of its neighbours, to cease violating their airspace. And I call on Russia to negotiate directly with Ukraine to end that war.”

Russia’s representative, first deputy representative Dmitry Polyanskiy, is up next.

He wastes no time and he goes on the attack straight away saying that “gone for good” is the time when Europe was associated with the Renaissance, the enlightenment, culture, and science, as he accuses it of “primitive hatred” of Russia instead.

He says that “Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant” were replaced by “von der Leyens, Kallases, Johnsons and other small time blinkered russophobes.”

“Thanks to their efforts, primitive hatred for our country in an attempt to portray Russia as the main threat to pan-European security is, before our very eyes, becoming the only ideology of European states,” he says.

He says that “all events are immediately interpreted through an anti-Russian prism,” with “the very idea that war with Russia is unavoidable being frantically pounded into the heads of the European populace.

He accuses Europe for “spreading blatant lies” with “paranoia … reaching heights never seen before.”

Going back to the previous UNSC meeting over the Russian drones incursion into Poland, he says Polish accusations against Russia two weeks ago were “groundless” and advanced with “not a single piece of evidence.”

He says Poland rejected the Russian offer to consult on drones, and attacks Warsaw for using it as a “pretext for a new wave of the Russophobia campaign they are engaged in.”

(The Polish foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, is in attendance today.)

He says the Estonian accusations are part of the same “spectacle entitled ‘blame Russia for everything’.

He insists Russian fighter jets never crossed into Estonian airspace, but conducted a planned flight to an airbase in Kaliningrad, “carried out in strict accordance with international airspace use rules.”

Polyanskiy then goes on fierce attack against Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which he accuses of corruption, theft, violation of human rights, among others.

He then goes back to his original claim that European leaders try to “whip up anti-Russian hysteria,” before extensively quoting JD Vance’s speech at the Munich conference earlier this week and repeating the US vice-president’s point that the main threat facing Europe is “not Russia, not China, but … within.”

“Europe today is like an unhinged, paranoid individual, unable to respond to criticism, nor is it able to remember the lessons of history,” he says.

And so on. I mean, you get the idea.

He ends by saying:

“If you want to get hysterical, to ferment and to continue levy baseless accusations, go right ahead, but do that without our participation.

We won’t be partaking in this theatre of the absurd, and you don’t need us there.

When you decide that you want to engage in a serious discussion about European security, about the fate of our common continent, about how to make this continent prosperous and secure for everybody, we’ll be ready, you know where to find us.”

UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper is up next.

She says Russia keeps “violating its most basic obligations under the UN Charter” with “escalating” attacks on Ukraine, and “reckless” acts of incursion into Polish, Romanian and Estonian airspace.

“These latest acts are dangerous and reckless.

At worst, they are a deliberate attempt to undermine the territorial integrity of sovereign nations and European security.

They risk miscalculation, they open the door to direct armed confrontation between Nato and Russia.”

In a strong passage, Cooper says that “Nato’s combined strength is unparalleled and its determination to defend peace and security is unshakeable.”

“To President Putin, I say your reckless actions risk a direct armed confrontation between Nato and Russia.

Our alliance is defensive, but be under no illusion.

We stand ready to take all steps necessary to defend Nato skies and Nato’s territory. We are vigilant.

We are resolute, and if we need to confront planes that are operating in Nato airspace without permission, then we will do so.”

She continues:

“Russia’s imperialist warmongering is a threat to international peace and security.

It is a threat to the values and principles that underpin this organisation, this organisation that has done so much to support stability and prosperity these past 80 years, we must counter it for the sake of us all.”

Greek foreign minister Giorgos Gerapetritis strikes a similar chord as he says:

“Reckless acts of this kind are not new, but their successive recurrence indicates they are not mere coincidences.

As the saying goes, once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three is a pattern.”

He urges Russia to “cease these unlawful acts immediately and respect its obligations under international law,” as he notes that “it is evident this new escalation is a direct result of the Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

In a direct appeal to US president Donald Trump, he notes that “these [Russian] violations … contradict the spirit of the Anchorage meeting” with Putin.

Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen opens the floor.

He says it was a “reckless and dangerous” violation of Estonian airspace, “penetrating 10 kilometer deep, north of Tallin.”

“Let there be no doubt: I condemn this latest violation of Estonia sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia. Our support for Estonia remains steadfast,” he says.

He calls out Russian “escalations and provocations” which he says seek to “intimiate countries to stop supporting Ukraine and to test our resolve.”

“Russia clearly feels it can act with impunity in Ukraine, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the whole of eastern Europe,” he warns.

But he says that “Denmark and its allies will not be provoked by Russia.”

“We have seen this playbook before the invasion of Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, the invasion of the Donbas, the full scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s neighbours, not unreasonably fear, they could be next,” he says.

“Therefore, we tell the Russian Federation today: step back, step back. Take another path. We will not allow [for] the unravelling of the European security architecture,” he says.

We are now getting a bit more detail on the incident itself.

According to the Estonian Ministry of Defence, the incursion took place between 9:58 and 10:11am on Friday in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, with three MiG-31 fighter jets entering Estonian airspace without permission, with transponders switched off, and with no flight plans.

Italian F-35 fighter jets were scrambled in response.

Presenting the case, UN assistant secretary general Miroslav Jenča notes that Russia denies entering Estonian airspace, but sets out the context of previous Russian violations of Polish and Romanian airspace, too.

He says “this series of recent incidents further underscored the already high tensions that endanger European security as the war continues to rage in Ukraine.”

“The world simply cannot afford such danger to spiral out of control, and for the devastating war in Ukraine to further escalate and expand,” he warns.

Flanked by foreign ministers and senior diplomats from other countries, Estonia’s Tsahkna reads out a statement on behalf of 50 countries and the EU condemning the incident in which three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace last week.

He says it was “a dangerous escalation,” and “the fourth violation of Estonia’s airspace by Russia this year.”

“We are here today because this incident concerns not only Estonia, but the entire international community,” he says.

He warns its “part of the wider pattern of Russian provocations against its neighbours.”

“Russia’s reckless actions represent not only a breach of international law, but also a destabilising escalation that brings the entire region closer to conflict than at any time in recent years,” he stresses.

He urges Russia to “cease, without delay, its war of aggression against Ukraine,” and to “end all provocations and threats against its neigbhours’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The UN security council meeting, requested by Estonia, is set to begin at the top of the hour, and we are expecting to hear from the country’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna very shortly.

I will bring you the key lines from the statement here.

in Berlin

But it is not that Israel’s offensive on Gaza has not sparked huge outrage and condemnation in Berlin. Far from it.

This has been growing over the past few months and led to division even within Merz’s own conservatives, who take their historical responsibility towards Israel especially seriously and some of whom were outraged about restrictions the chancellor recently put on weapons shipments to support the Israeli government.

But Germany’s relationship with Israel remains unique, due to its overwhelming responsibility for the Holocaust in which six million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis. Israel’s right to exist and its security, it is repeatedly stressed, are anchored in Germany’s own Staatsräson, or reason of state/reason of being.

This is the line the German federal government has emphasised for decades and continues to reiterate whenever its caution over criticising Israel is questioned, even as constitutional experts have increasingly been stressing that this historical responsibility does not and cannot mean unconditionally supporting Israel in everything it does.

In an in-depth report on the subject on public broadcaster DLF, Daniel Marwecki of the University of Hong Kong, who has written a book on the topic called ‘Whitewashing and Statebuilding’, talks of the growing recognition in Berlin that continuing to support the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in particular over his war on Gaza is also in danger of leading to the growing international isolation of Germany and that it will therefore Berlin will be forced sooner rather than later into considering whether it should continue to do so.

In the same broadcast, Ofer Waldman, head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Tel Aviv office, stressed that Germany was learning to recognise that its close relationship with Israel, nurtured slowly over decades, also brought with it a special responsibility to be able to advise Israel in matters related to its own interests.

While acknowledging it was not easy for Germany, carrying as it does the weight of its guilt for the crimes of the Nazi era, to criticise Israel, Waldman said in the context of the current course of action leading Israel into at best “a dead end” at worse “an abyss”, it was relevant and appropriate to ask: “does a true act of friendship and solidarity”, not actually also mean “being able to say to Israel, ‘not like this’?”.

Merz’s non-attendance at the UNGA might also jeopardise Germany’s candidacy for a seat on the Security Council, for which it is effectively competing against Austria and Portugal.

The leaders of those countries will be present and lobbying for votes. This seat will ensure that Germany continues to have a relevant place at the table not just on Palestinian issues, but many other pressing matters.

in Berlin

The absence of Friedrich Merz this week from the UN general assembly at which recognising Palestine as a state is the central focus might not be headline news but both in Germany and beyond it is very much being commented on.

Around 150 states have already agreed to recognise the state, with several more expected to sign up this week. Germany, it is clear, will not be among them.

The decision of Germany’s fledgling leader to stay away from the New York gathering is being seen as inextricably entwined in the business at hand, even as Merz and his government advisers are insisting it has far more to do with pressing budgetary deals he needs to preside over in Berlin.

Instead, Merz has sent his foreign minister Joe Wadephul even as he will have to interrupt his visit to fly back to Berlin for Wednesday’s budgetary vote in the Bundestag (which incidentally also includes Germany’s 576 million fee for UN membership) before heading back to NYC where he is due to speak to the UNGA on Saturday (by which time many state leaders will already have departed and there will probably be much less media interest.)

Word on the ground in Berlin is, that had he wanted to, Merz could have been flown to NYC today and back in time for Wednesday’s vote, even at short notice. Even the UN could still have found a respectable speaking slot for him, according to insiders.

While Britain, Canada and Australia have announced they are preparing to recognise Palestine as a state, Germany (and Italy) say that they believe recognition to be wrong at this point in time.

Europe’s division on this is not seen to be at all helpful in terms of trying to negotiate a long-term peace agreement.

Shortly before boarding his plane on Monday morning, Wadephul said Germany did not rule out recognising a state, but said: “For Germany the recognition of a Palestinian state is more likely at the end of the process,” adding: “such a process must begin now.”

At the same time he stressed Germany’s demands for a negotiated two-state solution, “even if this is far from reach right now.”

Elsewhere, cities across Italy saw pro-Palestinian protests, strikes and blockades today, responding to calls from unions to “denounce the genocide in Gaza” and for diplomatic and economic sanctions against Israel, AFP reported.

More than 20,000 people gathered in front of Rome’s central station to protest against the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, AP reported.

There were also protests in northern cities Milan and Turin, the central city Florence and southern cities Naples, Bari and Palermo.

Dockworkers in Genoa and Livorno in the centre-north blocked the ports, according to Italian news agencies.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, or ENISA, just said that the cyberattack that disrupted several European airports (11:45) has now been confirmed to be a ransomware attack.

Meanwhile, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk warned that Poland would not hesitate and shoot down any objects that “violate our territory and fly over Poland.”

But he cautioned that it would take a more cautious approach to situations that are not clearcut, Reuters reported.

“We will take the decision to shoot down flying objects when they violate our territory and fly over Poland – there is absolutely no discussion about that,” Tusk told a news conference.

“When we’re dealing with situations that aren’t entirely clear, such as the recent flight of Russian fighter jets over the Petrobaltic platform – but without any violation, because these aren’t our territorial waters – you really need to think twice before deciding on actions that could trigger a very acute phase of conflict,” he added.

Tusk said that he would also need to be certain that Poland would not be alone if a conflict started to escalate, Reuters stressed.

“I also need to be absolutely certain... that all allies will treat this in exactly the same way as we do,” he said.

Estonia’s senior diplomat Jonatan Vseviov, quoted earlier (10:38), also commented on Russian claims that its jets had not violated Estonian airspace in his interview this morning.

In comments reported by Estonian public broadcaster ERR, he said:

“We have irrefutable evidence of this, and not just us, but all of our allies. This evidence exists. The fact that Russia is provocatively and dangerously violating the airspace of a Nato country is one thing. The fact that it is openly lying to the whole world about it is another.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused Estonia of falsely claiming that its military jets had violated its airspace on Friday, alleging without any evidence that it was trying to raise tensions.

Asked about that assertion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had not heard Estonia say it had evidence to back up its accusution.

“We consider such statements empty, unfounded, and a continuation of the country’s utterly unstoppable policy of escalating tensions and provoking a confrontational atmosphere,” Peskov told reporters, as quoted by AFP.

Russian pilots always operated in accordance with international law, he claimed in comments reported by Reuters.

Elsewhere, passengers are facing another day of flight delays across Europe, as big airports continue to grapple with the aftermath of a cyber-attack on the company behind the software used for check-in and boarding.

Several of the largest airports in Europe, including London Heathrow, have been trying to restore normal operations over the past few days after an attack on Friday disrupted automatic check-in and boarding software.

The problem stemmed from Collins Aerospace, a software provider that works with several airlines across the world.

The company, which is a subsidiary of the US aerospace and defence company RTX, said on Monday that it was working with four affected airports and airline customers, and was in the final stages of completing the updates needed to restore full functionality.

Airports in Brussels, Dublin and Berlin have also experienced delays. While kiosks and bag-drop machines have been offline, airline staff have instead relied on manual processing.

Separately, Nato ambassadors will meet to discuss the violation of Estonian airspace on Tuesday, AFP reported.

The meeting, convened after Estonia triggered the Article 4 procedure for emergency discussions, will give ambassadors a chance to discuss the alliance’s response to the incident.

Senior Estonian diplomat Jonatan Vseviov warned that last week’s Russian incursion was “part of a pattern of unacceptable behaviour, not an isolated event.”

“Recent weeks have seen repeated air and drone incidents in the region, all happening on the background of Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine.”

Vseviov, Estonia’s former ambassador to the US, also urged Europe to respond strongly, saying that “the fact of the incursion shows our previous messaging has not been clear or credible enough to change the reckless behaviour we face.”

“Our purpose is defensive clarity. If lines are blurred, they must be redrawn – decisively and together. That’s what we’ll aim to do in the coming days.”

On Monday, he went further telling Estonian media that it was necessary to make the consequences of the incident “sufficiently unpleasant consequences for Russia, so that it doesn’t come to this airspace next time.”

The UN security council will meet today to discuss the widely condemend Russian fighter jets incursion into Estonian airspace on Friday.

It will be the second time in 10 days that it meets to discuss Russia’s increasingly aggressive posture in the region, after Poland called the first meeting over Russian drones in its airspace.

“The issue is that Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, has very blatantly violated the principle of territorial integrity, is behaving aggressively in the same way more broadly, and this is not a one-time incident,” Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna told Postimees.

But over the weekend, another Russian aircraft was detected flying over the Baltic Sea without a flight plan, prompting a reaction from Nato allies, Germany and Sweden.

The incidents raised further questions about Russia’s plans for the region.

Posting on Facebook, Latvia’s president, Edgars Rinkėvičs, said there was a risk of “serious conflict” if Russia continued in the coming weeks to provoke Nato. European governments did not want a wider war but had no choice but to respond, he said.

Rinkėvičs added: “Russia is doing just enough to make it seem like it is not going too far. But, knowing both the logic of thinking in Russia and the frequent incompetence at various levels, this [a conflict] could happen. The responsibility will lie with the Kremlin.”

The Czech president, Petr Pavel, called on Nato to respond decisively to Russian aggression and to stay united. “Unfortunately, this is balancing on the brink of conflict, but giving in to evil is simply impossible,” he said.

Over the weekend, US president Donald Trump told reporters he “didn’t like” what happened in Estonia, but did not elaborate on the latest intelligence he received about the incident.

But asked by a Lithuanian reporter, he confirmed he “would” help defend the Baltics and Poland if they were attacked by Russia.

Let’s see what we hear at the UNSC meeting today.

Separately, a number of European countries moved to recognise the Palestinian state over the weekend, with the UK leading the pack, but also other countries, like Portugal, making the call. It’s France’s turn today, with Emmanuel Macron expected to make the announcement in late afternoon.

It will be a busy day, but I will bring you all the key updates here.

It’s Monday, 22 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.