Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has declared the alliance is “ready to defend every inch” of its territory after a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Romania, a Nato member state, during an overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine. The incident in Galați injured two people and prompted swift condemnation.
“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Rutte wrote on social media following a call with Romanian President Nicuşor Dan. “I affirmed that Nato stands ready to defend every inch of allied territory.” Dan convened an emergency meeting of the country’s supreme council of national defence and the foreign ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador.
In other developments, Sweden announced it will donate 16 Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine by next year, with Ukraine set to purchase an initial 20 of the latest model. The announcement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited an airbase north of Stockholm.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the army to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip, a move that threatens the fragile ceasefire and could worsen humanitarian conditions. The US-brokered ceasefire had given Israel direct control of 53% of the territory, but Israeli forces have since advanced westward.
An anti-crime taskforce in Memphis, ordered by Donald Trump, has been accused of targeting community observers with intimidation, including “immense force”. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit alleging agents tailed cars, surveilled homes and falsely arrested an observer.
