Czech President Petr Pavel has urged NATO to “show its teeth” in response to what he described as Russian “provocations” on the bloc’s eastern flank.

Pavel’s remarks follow a series of Ukrainian drone incursions into NATO airspace in Europe. Since mid-March, long-range UAVs have repeatedly crossed Baltic and Nordic airspace en route to targets in northwestern Russia, particularly oil facilities in Leningrad Region. The incursions prompted fighter jet deployments, and some drones crashed inside NATO states, causing damage.

Moscow has accused European NATO members of quietly allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russian territory, but Western officials deny this, instead blaming Russia for the incursions and claiming that Russian electronic warfare systems may have redirected the drones to stray into NATO airspace.

In an interview with The Guardian published Friday, Pavel echoed the accusations, claiming that Russia was intentionally staging “provocations” operating just below the threshold that would trigger NATO’s collective defense clause, Article 5. He also claimed that Russian military officials openly mock the bloc’s indecision during such incidents, and called for “decisive enough, potentially even asymmetric” responses to counter Moscow’s actions.

“Russia, unfortunately, does not understand nice language. They mostly understand the language of power, ideally accompanied with action,” he claimed. “When I asked them why they do these provocative actions in the air... their answer was ‘because we can’. That’s exactly the kind of behavior we allowed.”

Citing earlier Western allegations of Russian “provocations”in the Black and Baltic Seas – such as fighter jet intercepts and purported airspace violations – Pavel suggested that NATO should consider shooting down “either an unmanned or manned” Russian aircraft if spotted near its borders. Moscow has denied the accusations, insisting its patrols occur in international airspace and are a necessary response to Western reconnaissance flights near Russian borders.

Pavel also proposed “potentially asymmetric” measures against Moscow, including disrupting internet access, targeting satellites, or cutting Russian banks off from the global financial system, measures he said “are not killing people, but are sensitive enough to make Russia understand this is not the way they should go.”

Pavel’s position echoes that of several other NATO countries. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday that NATO states should actually help Kiev “direct” drone attacks “in the right directions.” Latvian and Estonian officials defended Ukrainian incursions by saying that Kiev “has every right to defend itself.”

Finland, however, rebuked Kiev over the breaches of its airspace, while Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico urged renewed dialogue with Moscow, warning of potential Ukrainian drone provocations involving NATO territory that he said could trigger direct conflict between Russia and the bloc.

Multiple Western officials have claimed that Moscow could test the alliance through provocations and hybrid operations, or eventually attack European states after the Ukraine conflict ends. Citing the purported threat, European NATO members last year pledged to raise military spending to 5% of GDP and launched rearmament initiatives such as ReArm Europe.

Moscow, however, dismissed claims that it poses a threat to Europe as baseless “nonsense” and condemned what it calls reckless EU militarization. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently accused European “warmongers” of portraying Russia as a “model external enemy” to distract from domestic problems.

https://www.rt.com/news/640468-nato-must-show-teeth-russia-pavel/

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Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has dismissed as “unfair” anything short of full EU membership in response to a proposal by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to grant Kiev ‘associate membership,’ Reuters has reported.

Soon after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Kiev was granted EU candidate status and has since persistently pushed for fast-tracked admission into the bloc. Despite reservations voiced by multiple member states, including Germany and France, Zelensky has demanded full membership by as early as 2027.

On Saturday, Reuters reported that the Ukrainian leader had sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, ​who holds the rotating chair of the EU Council.

“It would be unfair for Ukraine to be present in the European Union, but remain voiceless,” Zelensky reportedly wrote in the letter seen by Reuters, insisting that the “time is right to move forward with Ukraine’s membership in a full and meaningful way.”

According to the publication, Zelensky specifically cited the removal from power of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose party lost the general election last month. While in office, Orban staunchly opposed the prospect of Ukraine’s membership in the EU.

Under current rules, a new country can only join the bloc with the unanimous support of all 27 member states.

In his letter, the Ukrainian leader reportedly claimed that his country “deserves a fair approach and equal rights within Europe” as it is supposedly “defending” the bloc.

Earlier this week, several media outlets reported that Merz had sent a letter to the EU leadership, proposing ‘associate membership’ for Ukraine. The interim status, which is not currently enshrined in the bloc’s rules, would allow Kiev access to certain EU-funded programs as well as the right to solicit aid from member states in the event of an attack.

Under the scheme, Ukraine would also be represented at the European Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament in a non-voting capacity, according to multiple media outlets, citing Merz’s letter.

https://www.rt.com/russia/640488-zelensky-associate-eu-membership-unfair/

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Hungary has restored a ban on Ukrainian food imports after the new government “accidentally” allowed the restrictions to lapse.

The ban, covering around 20 categories of agricultural goods, was introduced in 2023 after former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government declared an emergency over the economic fallout of the Ukraine conflict.

Budapest argued that cheap Ukrainian imports flooded EU border markets after Brussels lifted tariffs, undercutting Hungarian farmers and destabilizing the agriculture sector.

While transit shipments were allowed, imports for the Hungarian market were restricted, and the ban stayed in place even after the EU replaced its temporary tariff-free regime with a trade pact last year.

However, shortly after incoming PM Peter Magyar’s Tisza party defeated Orban’s Fidesz in the recent election, the new government ended the state of emergency, automatically causing the trade restrictions tied to it to expire.

Following pressure from the main Hungarian farmers’ association and reports that several grain shipments already crossed the border, Budapest scrambled to restore the restrictions. On Friday, the government issued a decree reinstating the ban, followed by a post on X from Magyar confirming that Hungary “bans the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.”

“The sanctions were canceled due to a legislative error,” a government spokesperson told Euractiv, claiming lawmakers were reviewing nearly 1,000 decrees inherited from the previous government and the import ban was “accidentally not taken into account.” 
Agriculture Minister Szabolcs Bona described the lapse as a “serious legislative trap for Hungarian farmers,” and pledged that the government “will not allow Ukrainian or any other imported product to endanger the livelihood of Hungarian farmers.”

Poland and Slovakia also maintain restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural imports introduced alongside Hungary, despite opposition from Brussels.

The European Commission has argued that the bans are illegal because trade policy falls under EU authority, and last year reportedly considered legal action against the countries, though none has followed. Karin Karlsbro, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on EU-Ukraine trade, told Euractiv she “deeply regrets” Hungary’s decision to maintain the “illegal import ban.”

Kiev has not yet commented. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly criticized the bans.

While Magyar campaigned on closer ties with the EU, several moves suggest continuity with Orban. Magyar has opposed fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU membership and kept Hungary out of the bloc’s latest Ukraine funding initiative.

However, he signaled that the EU’s new Ukraine aid package would not be blocked and softened the government’s tone on social issues by appointing Judit Lannert – which the media has called Hungary’s “first LGBT activist” – as education minister.

https://www.rt.com/news/640467-hungary-reinstates-ukraine-food-ban/

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An unidentified drone has crashed into Lake Dridzis in Latvia, exploding on impact, local authorities have said.

The blast has become the latest in a string of drone-related incidents, which have been plaguing the Baltic states, in recent weeks. Multiple Ukrainian long-range kamikaze drones have repeatedly violated the airspace of those NATO and EU member states, with some of the UAVs crashing in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland. 

For Latvia, the drone troubles resulted in the collapse of Prime Minister Evika Silina’s government after two Ukrainian kamikaze UAVs hit an oil depot near the Russian border.

The latest incident was reported on Saturday, when a drone crashed into Lake Dridzis, located some 17 km away from Latvia’s border with Belarus. The UAV exploded on impact, killing fish in the lake with no further damage and injuries reported. Latvian police said it managed to recover some debris from the lake, sharing a picture of a mangled fiberglass object believed to be a piece of the UAV.