NATO pledges increased Ukraine support as Russia strikes near border

NATO chief Rutte insists Western allies will not be intimidated by Russian attacks meant to ‘scare’ them off.

This screen grab taken from video footage released by the TVN channel and made available via AFPTV shows a suspected Russian military drone recovered from the Baltic Sea off Poland’s coast [AFP]

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has pledged additional support for Ukraine after Russian drone strikes hit close to the border with Poland.

Rutte insisted on Monday that the 32-nation military alliance will not be deterred from backing Kyiv in the Russia-Ukraine war, and that it will beef up its own defences along the eastern border with Russia.

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The NATO chief’s comments came as Poland pledged increased security along its border with Ukraine. On Sunday, Russian drones hit a train near the Ukraine-Poland border and a second strike hit close to another crossing point.

The strike that hit the train came minutes after a diplomatic delegation that included former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt had passed through the station, according to Ukraine’s state rail operator.

“The strikes yesterday on trains in Ukraine close to NATO territory again show Putin’s desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror,” Rutte said at NATO’s political headquarters in Brussels. “Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine.”

Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Monday that the Polish army had also recovered what was believed to be a Russian military drone from the Baltic Sea near the coastal village of Jaroslawiec.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the attacks close to the Polish border were “clearly meant to scare Western countries from supporting Ukraine,” and added: “We should show that we are there for Ukraine and we are not scared.”

Asked about the strike on the train, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian forces were operating “across the entire territory of Ukraine … and will continue to do so”.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Sunday that Moscow appears poised to intensify its campaign targeting Ukraine’s western borders.

“These coming weeks and months will be a time of very intensified actions on the Russian side, and unfortunately we cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect our territory,” Tusk said as he emerged from a security briefing in Warsaw.

Polish officials have said intelligence reports, including a CIA briefing last week, suggest that Russia is likely to attack border points and intensify sabotage actions inside European countries as part of its efforts to discourage states from supporting Ukraine.

Tusk said he would consult NATO allies on preparing a potential joint response.

Trump returns to the table

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump said that Ukraine and Russia have agreed not to hit each other’s energy infrastructure.

The US president has recently appeared ready to revive efforts to broker peace, albeit continuing to suggest he leans towards the Russian narrative on the war.

The cost of diesel fuel in particular has come into focus as inflation continues to dent Trump’s popularity ahead of the US midterm elections in November. Ukraine has found significant success in targeting Russia’s oil refining infrastructure in recent months.

“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!” Trump wrote on social media.

Despite the US’s continued war on Iran, the US president has said he believes the hike in diesel fuel prices is caused by the war in Ukraine.

However, neither Russia nor Ukraine has confirmed the claim.

Russian forces hit two cargo vessels in the Black Sea on Monday, the Interfax news agency reported. One person was killed and another was injured during attacks on Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, local authorities said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested on Monday that a de-escalating step concerning critical infrastructure could be “a first step towards peace”.

Ukraine is ready ⁠to halt strikes ⁠on Russia if its partners ensure that Moscow will refrain from hitting Ukrainian energy facilities, ⁠infrastructure and food supply routes, he said.

The Ukrainian leader has previously suggested that mutual strikes could be paused as a first step towards halting hostilities. However, the Kremlin has persistently insisted that Ukraine must hand over territory and demilitarise before halting it will end its attacks.

北约首相吕特坚称，西方盟国不会被俄罗斯旨在“吓唬”他们的袭击所吓倒。

这张截图取自TVN频道发布的视频片段，并通过法新社电视台发布，显示一架疑似俄罗斯军用无人机在波兰海岸附近的波罗的海被打捞上来。[法新社]

在俄罗斯无人机袭击靠近乌克兰与波兰边境地区后，北约秘书长马克·吕特承诺将向乌克兰提供更多支持。

鲁特周一坚称，由 32 个国家组成的军事联盟不会因支持基辅参与俄乌战争而退缩，并将加强其在与俄罗斯接壤的东部边境的防御。

特朗普要求泽连斯基停止打击俄罗斯柴油供应（共4条，第1条）

波兰和乌克兰指责俄罗斯在边境附近发动袭击后“升级局势”（共4条记录中的第2条）

列表 3/4 “攻击将完全自主”：俄罗斯和乌克兰竞相发展人工智能战争

问题 4（共 4 题）：为什么特朗普警告泽连斯基不要打击俄罗斯柴油炼油厂？

北约秘书长发表上述言论之际，波兰承诺将加强与乌克兰接壤的边境安全。周日，俄罗斯无人机袭击了乌克兰-波兰边境附近的一列火车，随后又在另一个过境点附近发动了第二次袭击。

据乌克兰国家铁路运营商称，袭击列车的事件发生在包括英国前首相鲍里斯·约翰逊和瑞典前首相卡尔·比尔特在内的外交代表团经过该车站几分钟之后。

“昨天发生在靠近北约领土的乌克兰火车上的袭击再次表明了普京的绝望，以及他散播恐惧和恐怖的意图，”吕特在布鲁塞尔北约政治总部表示。“俄罗斯在继续对乌克兰发动可怕的战争的过程中，变得越来越肆无忌惮。”

波兰国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什周一表示，波兰军队还在波罗的海沿海村庄雅罗斯瓦维茨附近打捞起一架据信是俄罗斯军用无人机的物体。

欧盟最高外交官卡娅·卡拉斯表示，波兰边境附近的袭击“显然是为了吓唬西方国家，阻止它们支持乌克兰”，并补充说：“我们应该表明我们与乌克兰站在一起，我们并不害怕。”

当被问及火车袭击事件时，克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫表示，俄罗斯军队正在“乌克兰全境开展行动……并将继续这样做”。

波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克周日警告说，莫斯科似乎准备加强针对乌克兰西部边境的军事行动。

“在接下来的几周和几个月里，俄罗斯方面的行动将会非常频繁，不幸的是，我们不能排除这种升级也会影响到我们的领土，”图斯克在华沙出席完安全简报会后说道。

波兰官员表示，包括上周中央情报局简报在内的情报报告表明，俄罗斯可能会攻击边境口岸，并加强在欧洲国家境内的破坏活动，以此阻止各国支持乌克兰。

图斯克表示，他将与北约盟国协商，制定可能的联合应对措施。

特朗普重返谈判桌

与此同时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普表示，乌克兰和俄罗斯已同意不攻击对方的能源基础设施。

尽管美国总统最近似乎准备重启和平斡旋工作，但他仍然暗示自己倾向于俄罗斯对战争的说法。

随着通胀持续削弱特朗普在11月美国中期选举前的支持率，柴油价格尤其成为关注焦点。近几个月来，乌克兰在打击俄罗斯炼油基础设施方面取得了显著成效。

特朗普在社交媒体上写道：“乌克兰已同意不打击俄罗斯能源目标。俄罗斯也已同意同样不打击乌克兰能源目标！”

尽管美国仍在继续对伊朗发动战争，但美国总统表示，他认为柴油价格上涨是由乌克兰战争造成的。

然而，俄罗斯和乌克兰均未证实这一说法。

据国际文传电讯社报道，俄罗斯军队周一在黑海袭击了两艘货船。当地政府称，袭击发生在与乌克兰接壤的俄罗斯别尔哥罗德州，造成一人死亡，一人受伤。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基周一表示，在关键基础设施方面采取缓和措施可能是“迈向和平的第一步”。

他说，如果乌克兰的伙伴保证莫斯科不会袭击乌克兰的能源设施、基础设施和食品供应路线，乌克兰准备停止对俄罗斯的袭击。

乌克兰领导人此前曾表示，暂停相互打击可以作为停止敌对行动的第一步。然而，克里姆林宫一直坚持，乌克兰必须先交出领土并解除武装，才能停止袭击。