U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted Vladimir Putin is ‘not looking to attack Nato territory’ despite a suspected Russian drone attack on a German airport that sparked outrage across Europe.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday about the incident, he said: ‘I speak to him. I know him very well. Putin’s not looking to attack Nato territory.’
The reluctance by the US president to condemn the Kremlin will again raise questions over Washington’s commitment to Nato, as British government earlier expressed the UK’s ‘full solidarity’ with Germany.
The discovery of drones packed with explosives, including one found alongside a Ukrainian jet and another at a Nato logistics hub, has raised alarm across Europe.
European security officials believe the incidents form part of Russia’s hybrid warfare campaign against countries that have supported Ukraine since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022.
It is understood US intelligence believed Russian secret services were likely behind the attack in August, having reportedly matched DNA found on the drone with a suspected Russian sabotage attack at the same airport two years ago.
The US President’s remarks also come as he sends envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a plan to end the four-year-old Ukraine war.
