EU to unveil drone defense plan to counter Russian threat

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plane made an unscheduled landing in the UK because a windshield cracked on a flight back to the US from Brussels and all aboard are safe, the Pentagon said.

The plane landed "based on standard procedures," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a post on X. After Hegseth left Brussels, open source flight trackers spotted his aircraft lose altitude and begin broadcasting an emergency signal.

In February, an Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Sen. Jim Risch, was similarly forced to return to Washington after an issue with the cockpit windshield. 

Kyiv is introducing emergency power cuts across most of the country, officials and grid operator Ukrenergo announced on Wednesday, following a string of Russian strikes that have largely crippled the country's energy systems.

"Because of the complicated situation for Ukraine's energy system, emergency electricity cuts have been imposed in all regions," except for Donetsk in the east, at the center of most of the fighting, Ukrenergo posted on Telegram.

The grid operator added that "emergency repair work is underway in all the regions affected by the bombardments," urging people to use electricity "sparingly."

Ukraine's Energy Ministry said in a statement that it was forced to implement the cuts due to the fallout from recent Russian strikes.

The decision extends controls already put in place on Tuesday.

Russia's attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities have increased as winter approaches, causing significant damage to gas production and leaving major cities including the capital Kyiv in long stretches of darkness.

Ukraine also regularly targets oil refineries and hydrocarbon pipelines in Russia using drones.

The European Commission is preparing to propose anew counter-drone initiative with the aim of having it be operational by the end of 2027, according to a document seen by news agencies.

The proposal is set to be made on Thursday and discussed later on Wednesday.

It follows Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's idea for Europe to build a "drone wall" that was floated last month after NATO shot down Russian drones that invaded Poland's airspace.

The concept, dubbed the "European Drone Defense Initiative," should be operational by the end of 2026, according to the document seen by Reuters and AFP news agencies.

Some EU members have deemed the 2027 deadline as one that was too ambitious. Others, including Germany and France, are wary about the EU Commission stepping on NATO's toes. 

Berlin will finance a US weapons package worth $500 million (roughly €429.8 million) for Ukraine, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Wednesday.

Speaking in Brussels at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Pistorius said the package will include air defense systems, Patriot missiles, radar systems and precision-guided artillery rockets and ammunition.

The package addresses "a number of urgent requirements of Ukraine," Pistorius said.

Separately, the German defense minister also announced the delivery of another two IRIS-T air defense systems, including a number of guided missiles, shoulder-fired air defense missiles, anti-tank weapons, communication devices and hand-held weapons.

German military aid to Ukraine totalled over $2 billion, Pistorius said.

Swedish armed forces were following on Wednesday a Russian submarine that entered the Baltic Sea a day earlier, in what the Swedish military described as a "routine operation."

The submarine entered the Baltic Sea via the Great Belt, a Danish strait, according to a statement by the Swedish military.

"The armed forces' jet fighters and warships met up with the submarine in the Kattegatt [strait between Denmark and Sweden] and are now following it," the military said, describing it as a "a routine operation taking place in close collaboration with our allies."

The military added that it had a "good overview of our immediate vicinity."

Tensions have flared in the Baltic Sea since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday the military alliance was testing new anti-drone defenses on its eastern flank to counter threats from Moscow.

"NATO will implement a number of additional counter drone measures that will build on and expand and accelerate our ability to counter drones," Rutte said after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. "We are testing integrated systems that will help us detect, track and neutralise aerial threats."

The announcement comes as the European Union is looking into setting up a "drone wall" to counter the threat of Russian drones infiltrating EU airspace, which has happened at least in Poland and Estonia recently, with more drone sightings having temporarily groundede flights in several European airports.

Rutte has stressed there would be no duplication between the NATO and EU drone projects.

"Let me say it once and for all, the EU and NATO are working hand in hand, closely together, and we both know our strength," he said.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Moscow on Wednesday that Washington and its allies were ready to "impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression" if the Ukraine war doesn't end.

"If we must take this step, the US War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do," Hegseth said at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — a coalition of over 50 countries focused on streamlining the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine — at NATO headquarters.

NATO defense ministers are meeting to look at ways to boost the alliance's ability to defend against airspace violations by Russia and bolster support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a news conference that the US was ready to impose tariffs on China over its Russian oil purchase but only if European allies were willing to take part in such a measure.

"It is the purchase of Russian oil by China that fuels the Russian war machines. China buys 60%, six zero percent, of Russian energy. They buy 90% of Iranian energy," he said.

The Trump administration has reignited its trade war with Beijing, with Trump threatening a new whopping 100% additional tariffs in reaction to China's restrictions on rare earths export.

Germany and Turkey will hold talks over the potential deliveries of Eurofighter jets, a Berlin Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, confirming Berlin has agreed to the negotiations.

"The German government has responded positively to a preliminary request from Airbus to negotiate the delivery of Eurofighters to Turkey," the spokesperson said, adding that the aircraft would be used for "collective defence within the NATO framework."

German top diplomat Johann Wadephul is due in the Turkish capital Ankara on Friday to go over the issue with his Turkish counterpart, the spokesperson added.

The discussion comes as European members of the NATO alliance scramble to firm up air defenses against Russia, amid a string of drone sightings across various European airports.

The UK has issued a fresh round of sanctions targeting Russia's oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil as well as 44 tankers from the so-called "shadow fleet."

In a statement on Wednesday, the UK Foreign Office said the 90 new sanctions reflect London's determination to cut off Russian President Vladimir Putin's revenue streams.

Rosneft and Lukoil export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, the Foreign Office said, adding that the former alone is responsible for nearly half of all Russian oil production.

"At this critical moment for Ukraine, Europe is stepping up. Together, the UK and our allies are piling the pressure on Putin - going after his oil, gas and shadow fleet — and we will not relent until he abandons his failed war of conquest and gets serious about peace," British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

Since Western countries sanctioned Russia's oil exports, the Kremlin has relied on a group of aging oil tankers to transport oil to buyers across the world.

"We are sending a clear signal: Russian oil is off the market," British Chancellor Rachel Reeves said.

Russia continued with its escalating attacks on Ukraine's energy system overnight, causing outages in seven mostly eastern regions, power grid operator Ukrenergo said.

State-run gas firm Naftogaz said a thermal power plant had also been hit, without identifying the location.

Russia has been stepping up its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as winter and the heating season approach.

In a report, state-run energy company Naftogaz said Russian forces had attacked gas facilities three times in the past seven days, including "critically important facilities" in the Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said earlier this month that Ukraine wanted to import 30% more gas after the damage caused by the Russian strikes.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said his country will increase its contribution to policing European airspace following a spate of Russian aerial incursions and mysterious drone sightings.

Germany was prepared to take the lead in any EU air defense shield, Reuters news agency reported. 

At a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Pistorius said Germany would send Eurofighters to carry out patrol flights in Poland, which saw a major Russian drone incursion in September, as well as spend €10 billion ($11.6 billion) on all kinds of drones in the coming years.

"We will contribute to protecting the eastern flank with patrol flights," he said, adding Germany would be "more active, more present and more visible" on NATO's eastern border. 

When asked whether Germany would help finance US Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, he said a decision would be taken when the time came to do so.

 US President Donald Trump says he is currently considering whether to allow the long-range Tomahawks, which would enable Ukraine to carry out attacks far within Russia, to be purchased by or for Kyiv.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday called on NATO member states to purchase more weapons for Ukraine under his country's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) scheme, which has replaced US arms donations to Kyiv. 

"Our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion," he told reports ahead of a meeting with other NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he expected further pledges, noting that $2 billion (€1.7 billion) already had been committed through the mechanism.

Sweden, Estonia and Finland pledged contributions on Wednesday, joining a number of other European countries, including Germany, who are already purchasing weapons through the scheme

Spain, Italy, France and Britain have so far not joined, drawing criticism from Washington.

Under the Trump administration, the US, previously a major supplier of military aid to Ukraine, has ceased donating military equipment to Kyiv.

According to Germany's Kiel Institute for the World Economy, most military aid to Ukraine now flows through PURL.

However, it reported on Tuesday that military aid to Ukraine fell nonetheless by 43% in July and August compared with the first half of the year.

Families living in villages near the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk have been ordered to leave their homes amid what local authorities have called the "worsening security situation" in the region.

Russian forces have been advancing on Kupiansk for months as they push westward through central and eastern Ukraine.

The governor of northeastern Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, wrote on Telegram that a total of 409 families with 601 children were told to leave 27 localities.

A local official later told the public broadcaster Suspilne the number of localities affected had risen to 40.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said an UN convoy, including a team from his agency, came under attack in southern Ukraine on Tuesday while on an aid mission.

He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the team managed to deliver medical supplies to the city of Bilozerka, in the Kherson district, despite the incident, adding that two World Food Programme trucks were damaged.

"Attacks on humanitarians must end," Tedros wrote in his statement.  

 

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels amid fears that Russia is probing the alliance's reactions with a number of high-profile incursions into its members' airspace.

Among other things, the ministers are expected to discuss establishing what the EU calls a "drone wall" to counter the Russian threat, a project NATO chief Mark Rutte said was being worked on jointly with the bloc.

Europe has seen a recent spate of mysterious drone flights that have disrupted airports and flown close to military sites in several countries.

NATO is currently looking at incorporating low-cost technologies, such as those used by Ukraine, into its anti-drone defenses.

Current anti-drone systems rely largely on expensive missiles and aircraft.

The ministers are also to look at shoring up support for Ukraine against Moscow's full-scale invasion of its territory, with a study released on Tuesday showing a major drop in Western military aid to Kyiv in recent months.

The study by Germany's Kiel Institute showed such support dropping by 43% iin July and August compared to the first half of the year, even after Kyiv's European allies began purchasing US arms for Ukraine under a US scheme known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).

Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have all bought weapons under the scheme, but Italy and Spain, among others, have sent very little. France does not intend to take part in the arrangement.

Spain's defense minister, Margarita Robles Fernandez, is also likely to come under pressure from her US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, over Madrid's failure to meet NATO spending targets. 

This failure already drew criticism last week from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to throw Spain out of NATO if it did not comply.