NATO plans to enhance its missile defense systems on its eastern flank in response to a growing threat from Russia, Bloomberg reported on June 12, citing its undisclosed sources.

For the first time, member states of NATO are reportedly considering combining the alliance's ballistic missile shield with other integrated missile defense assets. The talks are taking place behind closed doors and involve sensitive deliberations, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.

Moscow has long opposed NATO's missile defense infrastructure, particularly the U.S.-built interceptors deployed in Poland and Romania, states neighboring Ukraine. The alliance has previously said those systems are intended to counter potential long-range threats from Iran, not Russia.

The so-called "NATO expansion to the east" is one of the key narratives used by Russian propaganda to justify its large-scale war against Ukraine.

The proposed integration of ballistic missile defense with NATO's broader air and missile defense network would address threats from any direction in the future. This shift suggests the effort would increasingly be focused on deterring Russian capabilities, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The move comes as NATO ramps up its defense posture more than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The alliance recently agreed on the most ambitious new weapons targets since the Cold War.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on alliance members to make a "quantum leap" in defense investment in response to the enduring threat from Russia. Speaking at Chatham House in London, Rutte urged allies to increase air and missile defense by 400%.

Talks on integrating the systems may wrap up ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24–25, but could continue afterward, the sources said. Ukraine is invited to attend the summit. It remains unclear whether the initiative will still officially cite Iran as a threat or move fully toward addressing Russia.

The effort is part of a broader strategy to reinforce NATO's eastern flank, but some officials have raised concerns about how it might affect peace efforts in Ukraine and whether the United States will fully support the integration, Bloomberg reported.

Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump echoed Russian claims that Kyiv provoked the invasion by pursuing its NATO ambitions.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that NATO is deploying a new satellite surveillance system aimed at monitoring military activity in Ukraine and along the alliance's eastern borders. The system, known as Smart Indication and Warning Broad Area Detection (SINBAD), will use AI-powered analysis to scan large areas and detect potential threats with unprecedented frequency.

NATO expands satellite surveillance to monitor Ukraine, eastern flank

The initiative, named Smart Indication and Warning Broad Area Detection (SINBAD), will allow NATO to scan vast territories with unprecedented frequency, using AI-powered analysis to detect changes and alert allies to potential threats.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

Russia aims to deploy 10,000 troops to Transnistria and install a pro-Kremlin government in Moldova to enable it, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean told the Financial Times in an interview published June 4.

“They want to consolidate their military presence in the Transnistrian region,” Recean said, adding that Russia’s goal is to increase leverage not only near Ukraine’s southwest but also close to NATO member Romania.

Although Russia has maintained a limited military presence in Transnistria since the 1990s, only 1,000-1,500 troops remain today.

“Currently, their forces there are almost meaningless,” Recean noted.

However, he warned that a Russia-leaning government in Chisinau could authorize a buildup, citing Moldovan intelligence estimates for the 10,000-troop target.

Recean accused Russia of meddling in Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary elections through propaganda, illegal financing, and “spending the equivalent of 1% of Moldova’s GDP” on influence operations in 2024.

He said Moldovan authorities had intercepted citizens carrying large sums of Russian cash and discovered that 130,000 voters in the previous election received money from Russian sources.

“This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy,” Recean said, affirming that Moldova remains committed to becoming an EU member.”

The Kremlin has not publicly responded to these allegations.

Transnistria is a Russia-controlled breakaway region of Moldova that Moscow occupied in the early 1990s under the pretext of protecting the Russian population.

The region borders Ukraine's Odesa Oblast and is internationally recognized as part of Moldova.

Polish PM Tusk blames Russian hackers for cyberattacks ahead of presidential election

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the cyberattacks hit the website of his Civic Platform party, as well as those of its coalition partners, the Left and the Polish People’s Party (PSL).

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

NATO's eastward expansion is a "fair" concern for Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said in an interview with ABC News on May 29.

As one of the conditions for ending the full-scale war against Ukraine, Putin demanded a written pledge by NATO not to accept more Eastern European members, which would effectively block Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova from joining, Reuters reported earlier this week.

Moscow has claimed that Ukraine's NATO aspirations were one of the key causes of its invasion. Russian aggression against Ukraine began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, a time when Kyiv had little prospect of joining the alliance in the foreseeable future.

When asked whether Trump would commit to halting NATO expansion, Kellogg replied that "it's a fair concern."

Trump's special envoy also reiterated that Ukraine's membership in the alliance "is not on the table," adding that Washington is not alone in its hesitation, as several other member states share similar doubts about Kyiv’s accession.

"And that's one of the issues Russia will bring up... They're also talking about Georgia, they're talking about Moldova, they're talking — obviously — about Ukraine. And we're saying, 'Okay, let's address this comprehensively,'" Kellogg said.

According to him, a decision of NATO's expansion would ultimately be up to the U.S. president, and any agreement would likely involve negotiations between Trump, Putin, and President Volodymyr Zelensky to reach a settlement of the Russia's war.

Trump has repeatedly echoed Moscow's narrative that Ukraine's efforts to join NATO have been one of the root causes of the full-scale invasion.

In March this year, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha  rejected restrictions on joining international alliances and organizations — namely, NATO and the EU — as part of a potential peace deal.

Ukraine applied for NATO membership in September 2022, months after the outbreak of the full-scale war. The country has not received a formal invitation, as the 32 members have struggled to reach a consensus.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine? Despite Trump’s claims, it wasn’t because of NATO

President-elect Donald Trump blamed outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden on Jan. 7 for Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine. Trump said Biden’s support of Ukraine’s NATO membership had led to Russia’s war against the country. “I could understand their feelings,” he said, referring to the country that launched the deadliest

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

Belarus will reduce the parameters of the upcoming Zapad-2025 military drills and move maneuvers further inland from the western border to reduce tensions in the region, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin claimed on May 28.

Zapad drills are large-scale joint military exercises regularly held by Russian and Belarusian forces. Minsk confirmed earlier this year that the 2025 drills will take place in mid-September, involving 13,000 soldiers.

"We have made a decision to reduce the parameters of the Joint Strategic Exercise 'Zapad-2025' and move its main maneuvers deep into the territory of the Republic of Belarus from the western borders," Khrenin said, according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry's Telegram channel.

Khrenin made the announcement during a meeting of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) ministers in Bishkek.

The exercises have raised alarm in Kyiv and NATO, as they will take place amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Moscow's increasingly aggressive posture toward Western allies.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia plans to deploy 15 divisions, totaling 100,000 to 150,000 troops, primarily in Belarus, possibly in preparation for a major military escalation.

Responding to the Russian-Belarusian drills, Poland has announced it would hold simultaneous and proportional exercises involving NATO partners.

Khrenin claimed that Zapad drills are "not aimed against anyone," stressing that Minsk's decision "indicates a readiness for dialogue and a reduction in tensions in the region."

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has been a key ally to Russia during its full-scale war against Ukraine. While not deploying its soldiers for combat, Belarus has provided its territory as a launching ground for Russian ground forces and missiles in 2022.

Ukraine allegedly launches almost 300 drones at Russia; UAV facility near Moscow reportedly targeted

Dozens of Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defenses as they approached Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed on May 28.

The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk

Calin Georgescu, a Moscow-friendly Romanian politician who ran for president in November 2024, announced on May 26 that he is retiring from politics.

In a video address posted online, Georgescu said he had made a personal choice to become a mere "observer of public and social life" and devote more time and energy to his family.

An ultranationalist and a staunch opponent of NATO, Georgescu came first in the initial round of the presidential election in November 2024 with 22.9% of the vote. Romania's Constitutional Court later annulled the vote due to credible evidence of foreign interference in Georgescu's favor, namely from Russia.

Georgescu was later barred from participating in a rerun in May as he faces multiple criminal charges over suspected promotion of fascist ideologies and Romania's World War II-era leader, Ion Antonescu, who oversaw the Holocaust in the country.

In his address, Georgescu said that after the presidential election, "this stage of the sovereignist movement has ended." He added he would not join any political party or seek to hold a political office.

After Georgescu was banned from running for president, far-right Eurosceptic George Simion became the leading nationalist candidate instead but was defeated in the runoff on May 18 by pro-EU centrist Nicusor Dan.

"The world is weary of conflict, war, haste, violence, and political excess," Georgescu said.

"When public attention is consumed by political infighting that has little to do with society's well-being, those in professions vital to the country's welfare are pushed to the margins."

Georgescu thanked all those who supported him, claiming they had been "harassed, humiliated, and marginalized," and extended his gratitude also to his opponents.

The largely unknown Georgescu surged in popularity shortly before the November vote thanks to what is suspected to be Russian interference and a hybrid campaign on the TikTok platform.

The former candidate has vowed to end Romania's assistance to Ukraine and once suggested that Bucharest could take part in the country's post-war partition, drawing a rebuke from Kyiv.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine? Debunking Putin’s ‘root causes’ claims

As Russia continues to bombard cities and towns across Ukraine, Russian officials have hardened their position against a ceasefire, continuing to repeat the obscure demand that the war’s “root causes” be addressed before agreeing to any truce. For months, the phrase “root causes” has become a go-to talking point

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta