The skies over Europe are turning into a “gray zone”: how Russia is intensifying provocations against NATO
Фото: Pixabay
In September 2025, there was a sharp increase in incidents involving Russian aircraft and drones in the airspace of NATO member states. This raised concerns about European security and possible disagreements among allies on how to respond to Moscow’s actions.
This is reported by The Economist.
According to journalists, there have been several high-profile incidents in recent weeks alone: on September 9, Russian drones invaded Polish airspace, on September 19, three MiG-31 fighters violated the borders of Estonia, and then a wave of drones caused the temporary closure of Denmark’s main airport. Similar incidents have also been recorded in Norway and Sweden.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russian sabotage against critical infrastructure in Europe increased by 246% in 2023-2024, and such activities are now extending to airspace. Lithuania has already charged 15 individuals linked to Russian military intelligence with sabotage attacks.
Russian provocations have forced NATO to activate Article 4 of the treaty twice in two weeks — for consultations with allies Poland and Estonia. At the same time, the countries’ positions differ: Poland insists on a tough response, while Sweden and other states speak of the need for a proportionate response. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned Russia that in the event of a new invasion, foreign planes or missiles could be shot down without warning.
US officials have also expressed concern about Russia’s actions. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz publicly condemned Moscow, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a similar statement in a closed format.
NATO allies are now beefing up their defenses, with more than 100 Polish paratroopers landing on the Swedish island of Gotland as part of exercises, and Sweden moving air defenses and putting its air force on alert. Experts warn that the situation in the skies over Europe could become a point of tension between Moscow and the West, especially given US President Donald Trump’s uncertain stance on supporting allies in a crisis.
It was previously reported that flights of unidentified drones were recorded in Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Norway, and Finland, some of which flew near military facilities and strategic infrastructure.
By the way, on Friday, September 26, several unidentified drones were spotted over the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany . Schleswig-Holstein borders Denmark, where drones have been spotted three times this week. Local authorities have launched an official investigation into the incident.
It should be noted that earlier, operations at Aalborg Airport in North Jutland were temporarily suspended after unidentified drones appeared in its airspace.
On the night of September 23 , Gardermoen International Airport in the capital of Norway was forced to temporarily suspend operations after unidentified drones were spotted in the airspace above the airport.
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