War in Ukraine:
Risk of a Direct NATO-Russia Clash Is Growing
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Two new developments underline the challenge facing Kyiv’s NATO allies and the growing risks of a direct confrontation with Moscow as Russia’s war on Ukraine approaches a third winter.
Iran sent ballistic missiles to Russia, sources told Bloomberg, at a time when the Kremlin is waging an intense bombing campaign aimed at wrecking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and freezing its people into submission.
CIA chief William Burns said shipping such firepower to Russia would be a “dramatic escalation” of Iranian support, which has so far included supplying hundreds of combat drones. Tehran has insisted it isn’t arming either side.
At the same time, two NATO states reported weekend incidents with Russian UAVs.
Romania said fighter jets tracked a Russian drone that violated its airspace before heading into Ukraine.
Latvia summoned a Russian diplomat after a UAV crashed in the Baltic state’s east. President Edgars Rinkevics said NATO must act “collectively” against a growing number of such incidents.
The new Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, urged the military alliance to deploy its air defenses “to intercept Russian missiles and drones over Ukraine.”
NATO has resisted any such direct conflict with Russia, wary of an escalation that could turn nuclear.
Delivery of substantial numbers of Iranian ballistic missiles would let Russia ramp up attacks on Ukrainian cities. That challenges Kyiv’s allies to strengthen air defenses, a task they’ve been slow to achieve so far.
And if Russian drones keep crossing into NATO airspace, the alliance must show it can protect itself robustly.
NATO isn’t likely to throw a protective shield over Ukrainian airspace. Kyiv’s backers also remain divided over letting it use donated long-range weapons to strike military airfields and launchpads inside Russia.
A sustained Russian blitz of Ukrainian cities and more drone incidents over NATO territory may start tilting those debates in Kyiv’s favor.
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