NATO

Political friction inside NATO is running high. Moscow warned of armed conflict risk over any Kaliningrad blockade, and NATO confirmed receipt of that warning. Lavrov attacked Merz and predicted NATO's end, while Slovak PM Fico said some in the West seek war between Russia and NATO and declared Slovakia would not go to war over Article 5. NATO rejected Russian claims on the Leipzig airport drone investigation and condemned Russian threats of violence in the Baltics.

• 4Germany news: Merz lauds NATO with Westphalian Peace Prize
• 2Rutte calls on NATO after Russia warning
• 2Kremlin and Senate respond to NATO chief's threats
• 1Latvia election: clear win for Russia hardliner
• 1NATO faces questions over its stance on Russia

NATO's security posture is in active air-defense and counter-sabotage mode. NATO jets shot down a drone over Lithuania, and Lithuania scrambled a NATO jet over birds mistaken for a drone. NATO reported a rise in Russian hybrid attacks and boosted intelligence sharing as Denmark warned of limited Russian attack risk. NATO allies foiled a Russian undersea cable sabotage mission, and Rutte told Russia to stop its nuclear threats.

• 14Russia Warns NATO Over Kaliningrad, Mentions Nuclear Arms
• 3Lithuania closed Vilnius airport, scrambled NATO jets due to suspected drone
• 2'We've All Weapons': Putin Signals Use Of Nuclear Weapons If Russia Attacked By NATO
• 1Spanish Army to deploy mountain units to Finland for NATO
• 1GB News given special access to Nato border amid threat of imminent Russian invasion

Who covers NATO most

Outlets by number of headlines in September 2026, with their stance toward the country.

• Lenta.ru37 titles

  -1SkepticalFrom Russia

  adversarial, threat-framing

• Kyiv Post31 titles

  +1ConstructiveFrom Ukraine

  supportive but critical of readiness gaps

• Daily Express30 titles

  +1ConstructiveFrom United Kingdom

  sympathetic alarmism; NATO as threatened defender

• TASS (EN)29 titles

  -2AdversarialFrom Russia

  hostile, threat-framing

• Gazeta.ru27 titles

  -2AdversarialFrom Russia

  adversarial, threat-framing

• WELT25 titles

  0ReportorialFrom Germany

  factual security reporting, mostly neutral with occasional critical framing

• Anadolu Agency21 titles

  +1ConstructiveFrom Türkiye

  institutional, security-focused, mildly favourable

• Reuters21 titles

  From United States