
Nato scrambles jets after Russian strikes near Polish border
'Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,' Warsaw's Operational Command said in a statement on social media.
Russia struck deep beyond the front lines overnight, hitting western Ukraine with dozens of drones and missiles, according to Oleksandr Tretyak, the Rivne mayor.
Ukraine said Russia launched 479 drones and 20 missiles, which would be the war's biggest overnight bombardment.
Russia has recently accelerated its campaign against Ukraine, dampening hopes of a ceasefire after a renewed diplomatic push to end the biggest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
Poland is one of Ukraine's closest allies, and serves as a crucial logistics hub for Western military aid to Kyiv.
In March last year, Poland, a Nato member, reported a breach of its airspace by a Russian cruise missile, demanding an explanation from Moscow.
A similar incident occurred in December 2023, when a Russian missile penetrated Polish airspace for several minutes before returning to Ukraine.
Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, will on Monday call for a 'quantum leap' in defence capacities including a '400 per cent increase' in air and missile defence that 'protects' the alliance against Russia.
'We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,' he will say in a speech to the Chatham House think tank in London, according to comments released in a statement.
Ahead of his speech, Mr Rutte will meet Sir Keir Starmer for their second Downing Street talks since Labour came to power last summer.
His comments come ahead of a Nato summit in the Netherlands this month.
Donald Trump, the US president, is pressing alliance members to increase their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, up from the current target of 2 per cent.
Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defence, said last week in Brussels the allies were close to an agreement on the 5 per cent target, which could be formalised at the summit in The Hague.
Nato members have been racing to bolster their defence capabilities since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
'Danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends,' Mr Rutte will say. 'We must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full. Our militaries also need thousands more armoured vehicles and tanks, millions more artillery shells.
'Nato has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.'
Last week, Britain announced plans to build as many as 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines and six munitions factories, to rearm in response to what it said were threats from Russia.
Earlier this year, the Government pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, but has not yet set a firm timeline for further increases.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
21 minutes ago
- The Hill
Azerbaijan detains 7 linked to a Russian media outlet as a rift between Baku and Moscow deepens
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Seven people linked to a Kremlin-funded media outlet in Azerbaijan's capital have been detained after a raid on its office, the country's Interior Ministry said Tuesday, in the latest sign of the rift between Moscow and Baku over the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russian custody. Tensions have been growing since December, when an Azerbaijani passenger jet was attacked as it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, It later crashed, killing 38 of 67 people aboard, and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev blamed Moscow and said Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to 'hush up' what happened. On Monday, masked police stormed the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan. The Interior Ministry said the Kremlin-backed media outlet had continued operating via 'illegal financing,' despite having its accreditation revoked in February. Detained in the raid were Sputnik Azerbaijan's editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov, and editorial board director Igor Kartavykh. Five others linked to the media outlet also were detained and under investigation for alleged fraud, illegal entrepreneurship and acquiring property by criminal means. Belousov and Kartavykh were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 12 years. They also were charged with conspiracy to launder funds or other property, and conspiracy to carry out an illegal enterprise. Both were arrested and ordered held for at least four months in pre-trial detention. Sputnik's parent company, Rossiya Segodnya, said Tuesday it was 'deeply concerned' by the raid and that Azerbaijani staff members were among those detained. Diplomats from the Russian Consulate have not been grated access to its citizens who were detained, it said, and that Kartavykh's apartment had been searched and computer equipment seized. 'All these actions have no basis and have led to the blocking of Sputnik Azerbaijan,' the statement said. 'We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately resolve this unacceptable situation and release our colleagues.' The Kremlin also called for their release. 'Such measures against members of the media are absolutely not in line with generally accepted rules and norms and, of course, do not match the spirit and nature of Russian-Azerbaijani relations,' spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. The detentions followed Russian police raids Friday on the homes of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, Russia, as part of an investigation into a number of killings dating back decades. Two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, died while in police custody and several others were seriously injured in the raids, officials said, with nine people detained. Sayfaddin Huseynli, a brother of the two dead Azerbaijanis, told The Associated Press the raids were 'an inhumane, cruel act by Russia against migrants — an act of intimidation.' Migrants from Muslim-majority countries that once were part of the Soviet Union frequently complain of discrimination at the hands of Russians. On Tuesday, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan said it would launch a criminal investigation into the two deaths. It said Azerbaijani citizens and others of Azerbaijani descent who were 'practically helpless and unable to defend themselves,' were subjected to beatings and other physical abuse by Russian officials. It attributed the deaths of 60-year-old Huseyn Safarov and 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov to 'post-traumatic shock caused by multiple injuries.' Huseyn had also suffered post-hemorrhagic shock, it said. Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday that one of the deaths had been caused by heart failure. It did not provide details on the second victim, but said a medical examination would be conducted to determine the cause of death for both. Azerbaijan protested the deaths by canceling a scheduled trip to Moscow by government officials, citing the 'targeted extrajudicial killings and violence against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their nationality' by Russian law enforcement. It also called off a visit to Baku by a Russian deputy prime minister, and the Culture Ministry canceled concerts, exhibitions and other events by Russian state and private institutions. Ties between Moscow and Baku have been strained since the December crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet. The plane eventually crashed as it tried to land in nearby Kazakhstan. Aliyev said it was attacked over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare measures amid allegations that Russian air defense systems were trying to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny. Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a 'tragic incident' but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. In May, Aliyev declined to attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Later that month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Azerbaijan, signaling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
International Criminal Court hit by cyberattack during NATO summit
July 1 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court in The Hague said it was hit by a "sophisticated and targeted" cyberattack during last week's NATO summit, the second such incident in less than two years. The court, which prosecutes genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression, said in a statement Monday that its alert and response mechanisms quickly detected, confirmed and contained the attack. "A court-wide impact analysis is being carried out, and steps are already being taken to mitigate any effects of the incident," it said -- but gave no indication of the extent of any damage or sensitive case information that may have been compromised, stolen or lost. The incident came amid a barrage of so-called distributed denial of service attacks targeting local governments and other Dutch institutions before and during the June 23-24 NATO summit, for which a known pro-Kremlin hacker group claimed responsibility. Cybersecurity authorities said they also investigating the possible targeting of the train network after services connecting Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Amsterdam and Utrecht were disrupted on Tuesday due to fire damage to cables. Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said he believed the incident "could be sabotage." The previous ICC incident occurred in September 2023 with the court saying at the time that it had all the hallmarks of espionage, calling it a "serious attempt to undermine the court's mandate." Following that attack, it instituted a raft of measures in response, reinforcing its risk management framework and identifying actions and procedures in readiness for any potential repercussions including any potential security risk to victims and witnesses, court officials and court operations. Since the court has been at the center of heated international debate with its rulings, jurisdiction and legitimacy challenged by states that do not recognize it over bias in decisions such as issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu and former Defense Minster Yoav Gallant on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity. That prompted the United States to impose sanctions on the court, U.S. President Donald Trump to issue an executive order sanctioning ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan. In June, investigations into U.S. personnel who served in Afghanistan and the Israeli warrants, saw the State Department sanction an additional four judges, citing the ICC's court's efforts to "arrest, detain or prosecute a protected person without consent of that person's country of nationality." Khan, who has had his own issues, stepped aside in May while an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him is completed. He insists he has been the victim of targeted campaign to discredit him. Khan lost access to his Microsoft email at the same time he took his leave of absence in May with the incident providing fresh incentive for a European effort to move to alternate platforms for criticial communications that are not provided by the U.S.-tech giants. Back in 2023, the court warned of potential disinformation campaigns targeting the ICC and its officials in an effort to "tarnish the ICC image and delegitimize its activities," pointing to criminal proceedings launched against elected officials, including Judges and the prosecutor, and daily hacking attempts. It also claimed to have foiled at the last minute an operation to infiltrate a "hostile intelligence officer" into the court posing as an intern. In May 2024, the Guardian published the findings of a year-long special investigation alleging Israel's intelligence agencies had waged a nine-year dirty war againt the ICC involving espionage, hacking and threats in an effort to derail the court's work.

28 minutes ago
Russia's ex-deputy defense minister handed 13-year sentence on corruption charges
MOSCOW -- Russia's former deputy defense minister was convicted on Tuesday on charges of embezzlement and money laundering and handed a 13-year prison sentence in a high-profile case that exposed rampant military corruption widely blamed for Moscow's military setbacks in Ukraine. Timur Ivanov is the most visible figure in a far-ranging probe into alleged military graft that also targeted several other top officials close to former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Shoigu, a veteran official who had personal ties to President Vladimir Putin, survived the purges of his inner circle and was given the new high-profile post of secretary of Russia's Security Council. Ivanov, 49, was named deputy defense minister in 2016 and oversaw military construction projects, as well as property management, housing and medical support for the military. He was known for his lavish lifestyle that outraged many in Moscow just as the fighting in Ukraine exposed glaring deficiencies in Russian military organization and supplies that resulted in battlefield setbacks. Ivanov, who has been in custody since his arrest in April 2024, was convicted by the Moscow City Court of embezzling 3.9 billion rubles (about $50 million), the charges that he denied. The court also confiscated his assets that included prized real estate and a collection of vintage cars. Ivanov's lawyers said they would appeal the verdict.