Ukraine-Russia war latest: Two Nato nations scramble jets after Putin’s forces pound western Ukraine

European allies have been shaken by provocations on Nato’s eastern frontier in recent months, accusing Russia of making brazen incursions onto foreign soil to test the bloc’s responses and undermine collective resolve.

Russia has long been accused of interfering in European affairs. But the issue was thrust back into focus in September, when nearly two dozen drones crossed over into Poland amid a large-scale Russian drone attack on Ukraine. Days later, jets violated Estonia’s airspace as Russia concluded major drills in Belarus.

Subsequent activity near the border has forced Europeans to close airports and borders, causing major disruption and exposing vulnerability. Businesses have responded with a wave of military and civilian innovations to safeguard the continent against the threats of modern warfare.

Our foreign affairs reporter James Reynolds writes…

Slovakia wants Nato to boost air defences in the country, on its eastern flank, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said after a meeting with the military alliance’s chief.

“During the joint discussion, he also asked the Secretary General to strengthen the air defence of Slovakia,” the Slovak government office said in a statement after the meeting on Tuesday evening, without providing more details.

Slovakia has sought to bolster its air defence capabilities in recent years, including acquiring defence systems from Israel and buying new F-16 fighter jets.

It was among the EU states on the eastern flank that agreed in September on the need for a “drone wall” with advanced detection.

But Slovakia has opposed the European Union’s policy towards helping Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Mr Fico reiterated in his meeting with Mr Rutte that the government would not directly supply lethal weapons to Kyiv, with the exception of allowing commercial contracts.

We’ve been reporting that the US is renewing its push to achieve a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has now said he has been in constant contact with US administration representatives and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff as they work on reaching just and stable peace.

“All scheduled meetings are taking place according to plan and in a businesslike atmosphere,” Mr Yermak wrote about his visit to Turkey as a part of the Ukrainian delegation which aims to revive talks with Russia on ending the war.

One of the external power lines to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine was restored on Wednesday, the Russian-installed management said in a statement.

The nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, has been under Russian control since March 2022, when Russian forces overran much of southeastern Ukraine. It is not currently producing electricity but relies on external power to keep the nuclear material cool and avoid the risk of a meltdown.

The Dniprovska power line was returned to operation after being disconnected earlier this month by the plant’s protective systems, the statement said.

The plant remains near the frontlines of the war, and Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling it on a number of occasions.

It was without external power supply for 30 days through late September and most of October, relying on diesel generators.

Defence secretary John Healey said the Russian spy ship Yantar was operating on the edge of UK waters north of Scotland and had directed lasers at pilots of surveillance aircraft monitoring its activities.

He told a Westminster press conference: “My message to Russia and to Putin is this: We see you. We know what you’re doing. And if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.”

Mr Healey also said the UK “must step up” in a “new era of hard power”, saying that the “world is changing. It is less predictable. It is more dangerous”.

He added: “In the last year alone, we’ve seen the Israel-Iran war bring the Middle East close to the very brink, armed conflict break out between India and Pakistan, Chinese spies targeting our democracy at home, Putin escalate still further his war in Ukraine.

“And in just this last year, we’ve also seen Europe’s skies plagued by drone disruptions, we’ve seen Russian incursions into Nato airspace double and we’ve seen 90,000 cyber attacks on the UK defence system alone.”

Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Wednesday that Poland will respond to last weekend’s railway sabotage, not only by diplomatic means.

He added that he will inform about Poland’s response “in the next few days”.

An explosion damaged a Polish railway track near Mika village, a route crucial for delivering aid to Ukraine, with Warsaw saying it was the work of a “foreign state”.

Polish authorities have since said that two Ukrainian nationals collaborating with Russian intelligence were responsible for an explosion on the railway track used to transport weapons to Ukraine.

A large-scale fire has broken out in Lviv following a Russian strike early on Wednesday morning, amid its huge air attack on western Ukraine.

An energy facility, woodworking business, and warehouse have all been damaged

“There is a big fire in Lviv. It will take several hours to put out the fire. Close your windows as the air may be polluted,” city authorities warned,” said Ihor Zinkevych, a member of Lviv City Council.

Maksym Kozytskyi, the head of the region’s military administration, said that “emergency power outages have been introduced in the Lviv region”.

He added: “This is a forced step due to the fact that the enemy attacked a number of energy facilities throughout the country.

“If the system cannot be stabilized quickly, unfortunately, hourly outage schedules will have to be applied.”

Moscow has accused Ukrainian forces of firing four US-made ATACMS missiles at the southern Russian city of Voronezh in an attempted strike on civilian targets.

Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it had attacked military targets in Russia with US-supplied ATACMS missiles, calling it a “significant development.”

Kyiv received the systems in 2023 but was initially restricted to using them only on its own territories, nearly a fifth of which are controlled by Russia.

“Russian S-400 air defence crews and Pantsir missile and gun systems shot down all ATACMS missiles,” Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram.

Falling debris from the destroyed missiles damaged the roofs of a Voronezh retirement home and an orphanage, as well as one house, the ministry said adding that there were no casualties or injured among civilians.

Moscow has a history of strong responses to such strikes. After Ukraine fired ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia last year, Putin ordered a hypersonic missile be fired at Ukraine.