Clouds are gathering over Europe as tensions on the eastern flank of Nato countries escalate after a spate of drones flew over Polish, Danish and Romanian skies and three Russian fighter planes entered Estonian airspace last month. It’s hard to disagree that “we are at the beginning of a hybrid war against Europe”, as Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, gloomily stated after her country’s main airport was closed due to the appearance of drones of unknown origin.
For our cover story, chief reporter Daniel Boffey travels to Narva, an Estonian town that is separated from Russia by a now heavily fortified “Bridge of Friendship”, to take the pulse of its 98% Russian-speaking population as it prepares for a mayoral election that will test the country’s unity and resilience against Russia’s provocations. How Europe and Nato respond is a question that concerns the whole world, but historian Sergey Radchenko suggests there are some tactical lessons politicians, military strategists and diplomats could take from the cold war era.
One hopeful sign of European resilience comes from Moldova, where the pro-EU ruling party was victorious in an election overshadowed by fears of Kremlin meddling. Our Brussels correspondent, Jennifer Rankin, analyses whether the result will allow the former Soviet state to bind itself closer to the European Union.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | Can Trump’s plan for Gaza succeed?
It was smiles and handshakes as well as verbal warnings as Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a plan for ending the Gaza war. But, as security correspondent Jason Burke explains, their 20-point path to peace has many pitfalls
Environment | Mountain gorillas in search of more room to roam
A once highly endangered species is now thriving in east Africa’s Virunga mountains but as numbers expand, the conflict between gorilla and human habitat needs increases, as biodiversity reporter Patrick Greenfield explains
Feature | The price of longevity
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping let slip their desire to live for ever in a hot mic moment. They are not the only ones. Aleks Krotoski delves into the medical advances and technological fixes that could, if you are rich and powerful, prolong human life
Opinion | Warning signs for the next big financial crisis
As share values continue to rise, other signs of economic prosperity are not so healthy. Is it time to check the complacency of a bull market to avert a coming crash, asks Larry Elliott
Culture | Let’s hear it for the highbrow
For years, argues Rachel Aroesti, elitist tastes have been called out as snobbery and entertainment, not intellectual art forms, has dominated. Now that AI ‘slop’ is increasingly being created to fill consumer demand, is it time to embrace difficult, human-made culture?
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What else we’ve been reading
The How we made series explores the creative process behind a seminal artwork. This week’s piece, on the Ting Tings’ solitary hit That’s Not My Name, is a classic example of how two Manchester musicians were catapulted from obscurity to fame in the blink of an eye. Graham Snowdon, editor
From the success of its films and TV programmes to the seemingly endless rise of K-pop, Korean culture seems to have hit a rich seam over the past few years. Perhaps Raphael Rashid’s dispatch from Seoul heralds the next export, as he investigates the booming market for traditional (and novel) hangover remedies. Neil Willis, production editor
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Other highlights from the Guardian website
• Audio | Does a bit of booze really make us better at languages?
• Video | Raising kids in poverty: The UK’s ‘inhumane’ two child limit
• Gallery | Spies, eggcups and penthouses: Sir Terry Farrell’s best buildings
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