KYIV: The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Monday that Russia was “gambling with war,” after a spate of Russian drones and military jets crossing into the bloc’s airspace.
NATO has boosted its defenses along its eastern borders as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defenses with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace.
“Every time a Russian drone or plane violates our airspace, there is a risk of escalation, unintended or not. Russia is gambling with war,” Kallas said during a visit to Kyiv.
“To keep war at bay, we must translate the economic power of Europe into military deterrence,” she added.
Kallas was in Kyiv for talks on military and financial support for Ukraine, and especially its energy infrastructure, as Russia has resumed attacks on power plants ahead of winter.
Ukraine on Monday was forced to introduce power cuts across seven central and eastern regions as a result of the attacks, which Kyiv has called “cynical.”
“The enemy wants to affect the spirit and mood of our population,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said during a joint press conference with Kallas.
“This is especially cynical on the eve of winter,” he added.
Ukraine retaliates by targeting Russian oil refineries, aiming to hamper funding of its war machine.
It has launched more than 30 strikes on Russian energy sites since the beginning of August, also triggering a spike in petrol prices inside Russia.
An oil depot was struck overnight in Russian-occupied Crimea, sparking a large fire, according to the region’s Moscow-installed governor and a source in Ukraine’s security services.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone struck a car carrying a married couple in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing them both, local authorities said.
Kallas also indicated that Brussels backed the delivery of US long-range Tomahawk missile supplies to Ukraine.
“We welcome all tools that make Ukraine stronger and Russia weaker,” she said.
US President Donald Trump said Sunday he may warn Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Ukraine could get the cruise missiles if Moscow does not end its invasion.
Moscow has warned against supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks, saying it would be a major escalation.
EU says Russia ‘gambling with war’ with airspace violations
https://arab.news/5tbhn
EU says Russia ‘gambling with war’ with airspace violations
- NATO has boosted its defenses along its eastern borders as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defenses with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace
- Ukraine on Monday was forced to introduce power cuts across seven central and eastern regions as a result of the attacks, which Kyiv has called “cynical”
UK to cut protections for refugees under asylum ‘overhaul’
- PM Starmer announced the cuts amid mounting pressure in the face of soaring support for the hard right
- More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year in the UK
LONDON: Britain will drastically reduce protections for refugees under plans to overhaul its asylum system, the Labour government said on Saturday.
The measures were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure over irregular migration in the face of soaring support for the hard right.
“I’ll end UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” interior minister Shabana Mahmood declared in a statement.
Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship.
But Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months.
That protection will be “regularly reviewed” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.
The ministry also said that it intended to make those refugees who are granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term, instead of the current five.
The Home Office called the proposals the “largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times.”
Starmer, elected last summer, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors.
More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys — more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022.
The crossings are helping fuel the popularity of Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, which has led Labour by double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year.
Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.
