Ukraine-Russia war latest: US and Canada scramble fighter jets to intercept Russian military planes off Alaska

NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday backed US President Donald Trump’s comments this week that NATO member countries should shoot down Russian drones and airplanes if they enter their airspace, if such a move was necessary.

“If so necessary. So I totally agree here with President Trump: if so necessary,” Rutte said in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” program, adding that NATO militaries are trained to assess such threats and determine whether they can escort Russian planes out of allied territory or take further action.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for “effective deterrence” by NATO in response to repeated airspace violations by Russia.

“We will not allow these attacks to continue,” Merz said at a press conference with state governors.

The German leader said he found NATO’s position on the matter “absolutely right”, after the alliance warned Russia on Tuesday that it would use “all necessary military and non-military tools” to defend itself.

European states must get used to provocations like having their national airspace breached and must respond “firmly but proportionally,” Romanian Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu has said after a meeting of the top defence council.

The council agreed on clear chain of command in case of airspace breaches by manned and unmanned aircraft, Mosteanu said. Romania has had drone fragments fall repeatedly on its territory since Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday to identify and intercept four Russian military planes off Alaska, the U.S and Canadian defence organisation said in a statement on Thursday.

NORAD detected and tracked two Russian Tu-95s and two Su-35s operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, the statement said.

NORAD said it responded by mobilizing an E-3, four F-16s, and four KC-135 tanker aircraft.

Poland’s prime minister has cautioned against having any “illusions” about Donald Trump’s stance on Ukraine, after the US president said in a rhetorical shift that he believed Kyiv could retake all its land occupied by Russia.

“President Trump stated that Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, could reclaim its entire territory,” Tusk wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.

“Behind this surprising optimism lies a promise of reduced US involvement and a shift of responsibility for ending the war to Europe. Better truth than illusions.”

Trump’s comments on Tuesday prompted relief among some but also suspicion among others that he is ready to leave Europe more to its own devices in supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains a concern for the International Atomic Energy Agency, which continues to monitor developments on a daily basis, Interfax news agency reported, citing IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

The plant in southern Ukraine has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the war, and each side has repeatedly accused the other of shelling it.

US President Donald Trump will host President Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Thursday, where the Turkish leader hopes to leverage the countries’ warmest bilateral ties in years to convince Washington to drop U.S. sanctions and allow it to purchase F-35 fighter jets.

Turkey temporarily deployed a warning and control aircraft to Lithuania as part of NATO security measures, the defence ministry said, following repeated airspace violations by Russian drones.

Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark and Poland have all said Russian drones or fighter jets have violated their airspace in recent weeks, prompting the NATO alliance to beef up defence around Europe’s eastern flank.