Dwell updates: Russia invades Ukraine

Final week, a drone flew greater than 350 miles past Ukraine’s western border earlier than crashing in Croatia, a NATO member nation. The drone was carrying a bomb, Croatian officers stated, and it is nonetheless not clear whether or not it belonged to Ukrainian or Russian forces.

One other drone not too long ago entered the airspace of Romania, south of Ukraine. And on Tuesday, Ukraine’s army said it shot down a Russian drone that had reentered Ukraine by way of Polish airspace.

The trio of drone incidents has amplified issues that Russia’s battle in Ukraine might spill over into NATO international locations, even when unintentionally, forcing the alliance to determine the right way to reply — if all of it — to incidents that happen inside its borders.

US protection officers say the errant drones that entered NATO territory seemed to be largely inadvertent. For the reason that begin of Russia’s invasion, the US army has established a deconfliction line with Russia to cut back the danger of miscalculation and ensure the 2 militaries working so shut collectively do not inadvertently conflict. The US has examined the road “a couple of times a day,” in keeping with a senior protection official, however to this point, it hasn’t been wanted.

However NATO has tried unsuccessfully to attach with Russia by way of a deconfliction hotline and written letters, elevating issues about Russia’s willingness to have interaction because the invasion of Ukraine has unfold additional west towards NATO territory, senior NATO army officers stated on Wednesday.

Russia introduced the battle nearer to NATO’s doorstep final weekend with precision-guided missile strikes close to Lviv in western Ukraine, targeting a military training facility simply 10 miles from Poland’s border. These assaults got here in the future after Russian officers threatened convoys which can be offering weapons to Ukraine from the West, although a senior US protection official stated the power was not getting used for safety shipments.

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