"The European Commission is not expected to rush into a decision about whether exports of raw materials from Aughinish Alumina to Russia should be cut off by economic sanctions, The Irish Times understands.

The Government’s confidential report investigating the Co Limerick plant shows the Rusal-owned company has become increasingly dependent on selling alumina to Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, as demand from other European countries declined due to concerns about Aughinish’s Russian ties and ownership."

"The unpublished report, seen by The Irish Times, could not find evidence proving alumina exported by Aughinish was ultimately used by Russian arms producers and defence contractors, but officials said their investigation was hamstrung by a lack of access to information about activities inside Russia and reliable internal trade data."

"Reporting by The Irish Times and a consortium of European media outlets revealed vast amounts of alumina refined in Aughinish was being shipped to smelters based in Russia making aluminium, which is sold to ASK, a Moscow trading company known to supply the alloy to Russian arms and missile manufacturers."

The Irish Times 

 

"[Our aluminum has] no connection whatever to the Russian military supply chain."

"[We will order an] independent third-party verification by a competent global company, who will monitor the alumina flows from Aughinish and subsequent export out of Russia."

Aughinish Alumina

The Aughinish Alumina plant in Co Limerick. Photograph Nick Bradshaw

 

Europe's largest alumina refinery sits on a sylvan plain, in Ireland's Limerick County on the Shannon river estuary. The enterprise that employs about 500 locals, is now at the centre of a dispute pitting support for Ukraine against the potential loss of that local employment. Owned by Russian aluminum giant Rusal, which according to Swedish tax authorities recently, is under the control of sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

 

Calls for Ireland to halt exports to Russia have newly arisen, despite that alumina exports are not at the present time subject to European Union sanctions. The company launched its Ireland production in 1983. Around 1.9 million tonnes of alumina is produced annually at the plant, according to the company. Following a March investigation by the Irish Times daily, plus a consortium of journalists (the OCCRP), raw material it is alleged, was shipped from Aughinish to Russia, processed into aluminum sold to a Moscow-based trader who supplies Russian arms manufacturers.

 

That public revelation inspired a government probe, where Enterprise Minister Peter Burke stated that "no adverse findings" had shown up against the refinery Since the investigation had been  unable to determine where alumina was traded once it entered Russia given a lack of internal Russian trade data, the statement of 'no adverse findings' appears both to reflect hopeful incompetence and a lack of government interest. 

 

Half of the refinery's alumina exports were shipped to Russia in the first quarter, according to official Irish data published this month; an increase from 43 percent in 2025 -- while 40 percent was shipped to the European Union. The exports. as far as Ukraine is concerned, erase concerns over economic activity out of Ireland that could be aiding Russia's war effort. "Every supply of strategically important raw materials that strengthens Russia's capacity to sustain its aggression raises serious questions",  urged the Ukrainian Embassy in Dublin.

 

Aughinish Alumina in Co Limerick supplies vast amounts of raw materials to Russian aluminium smelters, according to an investigation by The Irish Times and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).   Irish Times

 

During a visit by Irish prime minister Micheal Martin to Kyiv, to mark Ireland's six-month rotating EU presidency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Ireland's engagement on the issue.

"It is important that appropriate steps are taken to ensure that the Russian war receives no support whatsoever". Surely an uncomfortable moment for the Irish prime minister given Ireland's support for Ukraine, weighed against its non-intervention at one of Europe's last major Russian-linked industrial assets.

 

Within the European Union, Ireland, albeit militarily neutral, has been among Ukraine's strongest political supporters, claiming it is fully committed to sanctions against Russia. Outside the Irish parliament in Dublin, Ukrainian flags fly alongside Ireland's and the EU's flags. "The whole thing around Aughinish doesn't match, we need to be banning those exports", said opposition lawmaker Patricia Stephenson; the government's position was difficult to reconcile. 

 

Government ministers, said Stephenson, should work with the EU to secure alternative markets for the refinery's alumina while preparing contingency plans, including examining nationalization, should it be deemed necessary. The refinery's strategic importance as a major employer in rural western Ireland, and a key supplier to Sweden's and France's aluminum smelters, which supply European heavy industry, are issues more to the heart of those ministers. 

 

"Nobody wants to see local jobs lost. But we shouldn't be sending the stuff to Russia", said local businessman John Cassels in Foynes village across the estuary from the refinery, the location of a port that handles the refinery's exports. 

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) greets Taoiseach Micheál Martin as he arrives at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv last week   Niall Carson/PA

 

 

"One night in March, a two-person Ukrainian crew established a record  for the Ukrainian Armed Forces by shooting down, in one engagement, 23 Russian Shahed drones with Sting interceptor drones designed by the Ukrainian military technology company Wild Hornets. The story is noteworthy not only for the number of intercepted drones, but also for the operation’s cost efficiency and Ukraine’s interceptor-production capacity behind it."

"A Sting interceptor costs about $2,500. In comparison, a single U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missile that does the same job costs more than $3 million and requires significantly more time and resources to build and operate than a drone. Lockheed Martin produced approximately 600 of the most advanced PAC-3 type of Patriot missiles last year; meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used about 700 of these interceptors in the span of only four winter months in 2025-2026."

"The conflict in the Middle East has further exposed the shortcomings of a high-end, slow-production approach to defense systems. In March 2026, when Iran launched hundreds of Shaheds at Persian Gulf states, countries with the most advanced U.S.-supplied air defense systems outside NATO watched their defense capabilities erode as their interceptor stockpiles drained quickly. The air defense systems worked as intended, yet they were not designed to protect against the intensity and scale of Iran’s attacks."

"Kyiv is building drones in massive quantities out of wartime necessity against Russia’s ongoing full-scale assault, now in its fifth year. A key part of that necessity is Russia’s large-scale use of Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. That Russian campaign has raised serious questions about Iran’s responsibility under international law. In response, Ukraine is rewriting the global rules of air power and air defense, replacing sheer mass and large stockpiles of weapons as key factors in warfare with the benefits of quantity, speed, and the ability to learn faster than the enemy. It is a novel and adaptive, low-cost military-industrial model that is already catching the interest of other countries."

Lesia Bidochko, Just Security

 

Ukrainians train with handheld drones. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

 

"Together we can work on joint production, on making all of the components of the systems work, and provide both defense industrial bases with the impetus needed to step up investments and production [following The European Union and Ukraine's drone deal to merge Ukrainian expertise in unmanned warfare with the continent’s industrial capacity, with the goal of ramping up production of drone and counter-drone systems]."

"In Europe, we already have huge technological and industrial capacity that can be deployed. And we have safe and secure production sites that can help to scale up. But we do not have that battle-tested knowledge and expertise that Ukraine has forged. So the point I am making is that we need to combine our strengths. Together, we can work on joint production."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen 

EU launches Ukraine defence industrial partnership, Drone Deal and disburses €1 billion for drones  EU Neighbours East

 

Kyiv can be credited with many outstanding features in this uneven war imposed upon Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's ambitions to restore Greater Russia; among them the courage and intestinal fortitude to counter the full-scale invasion in its fifth year and add to that the determination to win this war, whatever it takes to repel the Russian beast. And nor can its ingenuity in designing new technological weapons of its own manufacture to match anything Russia obtains from the Islamic Republic in this new era of drone warfare, much less its entrepreneurial enterprise in marketing its products and its experience be overlooked.

 

So while Russian drones -- the Iranian Shaheds -- have wrought their weight in deadly measure as a means to kill thousands of soldiers and civilians in Ukraine, countermeasures to Russia's innovative first-person-view vehicles, jet power, fibre-optic tethers and similar innovations have led to Ukraine developing its own versions in countering the Russian military's. EU member-states such as Croatia, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Germany now see their own firms aligning with Ukrainian companies that specialize in first-person-view combat drones.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyer Zelenskyy, pushing the drone deals whenever and wherever he can now realizes a ready market. Where Hezbollah deploys unmanned aerial vehicles to attack Israel, and Iran uses them against several regional countries, a case in point. Kyiv has signed ten-year security agreements with Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since the joint U.S.-Israel aerial attacks on the Islamic Republic which led to its missiles and drones hitting its neighbours' U.S. military bases. A proposal, Zelenskyy stated is "also on the table for our American partners".

 

Ukrainian soldiers of the 127th Heavy Mechanized Brigade carry a Heavy Shot UAV across a field on May 8, 2026, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Image

 

"Latvia will adopt Ukraine's unique combat experience in airspace defence against drone attacks." 

"[The deal includes] immediate access to technologies, but most importantly, the immediate arrival of Ukrainian anti-drone combat unit experts in Latvia."

"Our skies can only be protected if we follow Ukraine's example, know-how and experience." 

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kilbergs  

A joint drone production facility is to be built near Latvia's border with Russia. Russia's Eastern Europe neighbours are fully cognizant of the potential danger they are in, following Ukraine's invasion, led by the Russian President's roving eye and territorial acquisitiveness. Kyiv anticipates more military and economic support, in particular American-produced Patriot missiles in short supply, given U.S. forces fighting Iran. Its breakthrough arrived when President Trump stated Kyiv would be allowed to make Patriot missiles itself in Ukraine.

 

"The terms must be beneficial for Ukraine, and the proceeds from exports must strengthen Ukraine's defence", stated President Zelenskyy of plans to release exports of Ukrainian drones. Reliance on early warning systems, radar, electronic warfare, mobile fire groups, helicopters, jet fighters and interceptors encompass Ukraine's anti-drone defences. Interceptors are increasingly being realized as the main line of defence for intercepting drones.

 

Over 100 Ukrainian companies produce interceptors. "We have approximately 15 to 20 very effective interceptors, which are also extensively used at the front", revealed Andrii Hrytseniuk, chief executive of Ukrainian government organization Bravel, providing a platform for the country's defence tech sphere. 

 

A Sting interceptor drone flies during drills at the Yatagan School for Unmanned Aerial Systems in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, Efrem Lukatsky/AP

 

"There is no one single bullet. There is sort of this funny magical thinking that a lot of people are doing in terms of 'hey, just send us all your drones or your interceptors'. "

"And what people are sort of missing is that is, even though there's tech and that's what everybody sees, it's only one piece of everything." 

Deborah Fairlamb, American investor in military technology 

"The problem with the strait is this. Let's say we do a great job. We say we got 99 percent. One percent is unacceptable, because one percent is a missile going into the hull of a ship that cost $1 billion."

"If we do a 99 percent decimation, that's no good."

"I read a story today that I'm desperate to make a deal. I'm not. I'm the opposite of desperate. I don't care. ... In fact, we have other targets we want to hit before we leave. "

"I don't like to say this, we've won this. This war has been won. They have no navy and they have no air force, and they have nothing."

"And we literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country They can't do a thing about it."

U.S. President Donald J. Trump 

Photo: Lee Hathaway

"Iran wants to fight this war of attrition."

"Once the war got underway, they had two objectives. One was to survive, but the second was to outlast Trump."

"Make the U.S. feel so much pain through the economy, strikes on the energy infrastructure, that they don't do it again."

"What they're trying to ensure is that Israel doesn't go in and do a war like they do in Lebanon every six months."

Nate Swanson, former U.S. diplomat 

 

"Mr. President, you are acting now to ensure future generations do not have to live under the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran."

"Unlike Iraq, this isn't a tie. This is not parity. This is is not chaos. This is success."

"Pure American success on plan."
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 

 

"The American position was essentially Iranian surrender, and the Iranian response was essentially American surrender."

"The American position was, 'Get rid of  your nuclear program, missiles and proxies', and the Iranian position was, 'Compensate us for our losses, and get out of the Middle East'."

Ilan Goldenberg, Middle East policy adviser for the Biden administration 

War in Iran  Center for Strategic and International Studies

 

Four weeks after the start of the February 28 aerial bombardment by U.S. and Israeli warplanes over Iran, those left in positions of power to represent the Islamic regime are no closer to surrendering to American demands than they were prior to the conflict. This, despite that their elite leaders both at the governing level and from the Islamic Republican Guard Corps have been dispatched to hold counsel with the Hidden Mahdi in Paradise, and a succession of lesser authority figures stepping in to take their place, in a roundtable of continuing precision strikes picks off each substitute.

 

The situation appears now to be in the defiant hands of the IRGC and even there it is questionable who has assumed the position of elite enforcer. On the American side, the war has proven to be extremely unpopular among American citizens. The U.S. legacy press is not in support of ongoing hostilities, the European Union is tying itself into knots trying to avoid Mr. Trump's accusations of elusive allies in a pinch, and China and Russia are ever ready at the UN to vote down any sanctions against their ally, Iran.

 

The signature closure of the Strait of Hormuz has struck the world economy and the stock market, an uncomfortable position for the Trump administration to find itself glued to. The threat and danger to global shipping targeted by Iran and the IRGC has thrown the shipment of oil, gas and fertilizer off kilter. The U.S. is self-sufficient in energy resources; it is Europe whose sourcing of energy revolves hugely around Iran that will suffer; still none among them is prepared to enlist in the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran.

 

The Gulf States, most geographically vulnerable to a desperate Iran with too many missiles and drones at its disposal, and receiving the blunt end of Iranian revenge-spite, speak of defence, but mostly hang their expectations on the U.S.-Israeli duo to rid the Middle East of the simmering threat of the Islamic Republic's nuclear threat and its terrorist proxies. They are anxious to see the job done and over with and the threat they've been living under since 1979 dispensed with.

 

Pressing help from the European and Asian nations to secure the Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with as much success as did the U.S. President. All are eager to do their part with one proviso: the conflict must first come to an end. In five national surveys in a week it was revealed that Americans oppose the war and fail to approve of its handling by their president. This, though Americans support efforts to stop Iran from nuclear weapons.  

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point, with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction -- we have strong signs that this is a possibility -- and if a deal  happens, it will be great for the country of Iran, for the entire region and the world at large."

Steve Witkoff, U.S. peace envoy  

Photo: Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

  

"The United States is the creator of NATO, its main sponsor. All the main resources come from the U.S. -- money, military technology weapons, ammunition, everything."

"And in the new U.S. National Security Strategy, Russia is not named as an enemy or a target. Yet the NATO secretary general is preparing for war with us."

"What is that? Can't you read?" 

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin during his annual Direct Line call-in show at Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor, 19 December 2025. Photo: EPA / SERGEI ILNITSKY

 

"The financial package for Ukraine has been finalized. Ukraine is granted a zero-interest loan."

"These funds are sufficient to cover the military and budgetary needs of Ukraine for the two years to come."

"If Russia does not pay reparations we will -- in full accordance with international law -- make use of Russian immobilized assets for paying back the loan." 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz 

 

"[The U.S. is trying to] figure out if we can nudge both sides to a common place."

"We understand that you're not going to have a deal unless both sides have to get."

"Both sides will have to make concessions if  you're going to have a deal. You may not have a deal. We may not have a deal. It's unfortunate."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio 

 

"The key question [relating to the U.S.-proposed plan to end the 4-year war] remains how the United States responds after consultation with the Russians. At this point, I honestly don't know, but I will know later today."

"This [agreement between Ukraine and Portugal for joint production of maritime drones] is one of the most promising areas of defence co-operation. What matters now is delivering results, and all parts of Europe must have sufficient capabilities to counter any threats."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

Moscow Times

 

According to the Russian Defence Ministry it struck unspecified "transport and storage infrastructure used by the Ukrainian armed forces" as well as energy facilities supporting Kyiv's war effort. But then, Ukrainian drones have hit a Russian oil rig, the military patrol ship Okhotnik and other facilities as the ship patrolled the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field, also hit, as well as a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea. 

 

Nothing, however, stops Mr. Putin from sneering at Ukraine's presumably feeble efforts at defence and offence, as, he claims, Russian forces are clearly winning the war that Ukraine is responsible for starting and he, Vladimir Putin, is anxious to put an end to. During the annual question-and-answer availability session staged by the Kremlin, Mr. Putin responded to many questions put to him. And in the process beamed over the fact that U.S. President Trump had shunted aside America's European allies in favour of Russia.

 

In responding to journalists and the general public in Russia the Russian president expressed his confidence on the trajectory of the Ukraine war while denying any responsibility for the war's consequences in massive human casualties, since it wasn't his fault at all, but rather that of the West. Sneering at NATO secretary-general's assertion that Russia might attack a NATO country within five years, pointing to the U.S. National Security Strategy linking Russia to "strategic stability". As for the security document; it is "largely consistent with Russia's intentions".  

 

"He can come back when he is ready for peace" 

Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump   REUTERS/ Brian Snyder

 

"When I arrived in Anchorage, I said these would not be easy decisions for us. But we agree to the compromises being 'proposed'. To say that we reject anything is absolutely incorrect and has no basis."

"The ball is entirely in the court of our opponents, so to speak, and, first and foremost, the leaders of the Kyiv regime and their, in this case, and above all, European sponsors." 

President Vladimir Putin  

It is, he reiterated, Kyiv that is refusing to end the war, while Moscow was prepared for peace with Ukraine and is willing to compromise to end the conflict, while Ukrainian forces were retreating "in all directions".  Terms suitable to Moscow are all that Russia is asking for to achieve peace. Terms eliminating "the root causes" of the conflict. Russia bears no responsibility for human war casualties "as we did not start that war".

 

While having assured President Trump that Russia stood willing to compromise in peace talks, Russia is also prepared to absorb more of Russia's "historical lands" from Ukraine through military force if negotiations to end the war on  Russian terms failed. Those Russian terms are, he contends, completely reasonable; the surrender of both Ukrainian territory in Russian hands, and portions still held by Ukraine. Oh and by the way, Ukraine taking steps to downsize its military and forego the weapons it holds to a limited number.

 

Right: no NATO presence in Ukraine as a guarantor of peace conditions upheld, nor any future attempt by Ukraine to join NATO. As for reconstruction costs associated with rehabilitating and rebuilding Ukraine, reparations are of no concern to Russia; Europe can foot the bill. Europe's decision to help fund Ukraine's continuation of its offensive saw EU Council President Antonio Costa declaring: "We have a deal. Decision to provide 90 billion euros of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered."

 

Belgium continues to hold out on the EU's plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's war effort and reconstruction. The International Monetary Fund estimated 137 billion euros would be needed by Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. The 210 billion euros of Russian assets frozen mostly in Belgium would fit the bill nicely. While Putin's ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who sees himself as a peacemaker declared: "I would not like a European Union in War. To give money means war".  

"Western leaders created this situation themselves and continue fanning the flames by saying they are preparing for war with Russia. [It is] nonsense [that Russia wants a war with Europe]."

"I have no doubt that you and I will witness new successes of our armed forces, our troops on the contact line before the end of this year. That's the plan." 

President Vladimir Putin 

Putin answers questions as presenters Pavel Zarubin and Yekaterina Berezovskaya look on. Photo: EPA / SERGEI ILNITSKY

"For many countries outside the West, it has become a viable option  to forge strategic agreements with China rather than the United States."

"China and Russia, together with other like-minded states, are seeking to reduce Western -- and particularly U.S. -- global influence."

"At the same time, uncertainty has grown over how the United States will prioritize its resources in the future."

"This gives regional powers greater room for manoeuvre, enabling them to choose between the United States and China or to strike a balance between the two." 

"The strategic importance of the Arctic is rising as the conflict between Russia and the West intensifies, and the growing security and  strategic focus on the Arctic by the United States will further accelerate these developments." 

Danish Defense Intelligence Service report

Greenland became a flashpoint in US-Danish relations earlier this year.

Juliette Pavy/Bloomberg/Getty Images 

"The goal of these Russian cyber and disinformation attacks is clear: It is to divide society, stir up mistrust, provoke rejection, and weaken confidence in democratic institutions."

"This targeted manipulation of information is one of a wide range of activities by Russia aimed at undermining confidence in democratic institutions and processes in Germany."

German foreign ministry spokesperson Martin Giese 

 

"Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that China has always regarded Saudi Arabia as a priority in its Middle East diplomacy and an important partner in its global diplomatic strategy, and is willing to work with Saudi Arabia to elevate bilateral ties to new heights."

"Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while co-chairing the Fifth Meeting of the Political Sub-committee of the China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud."

"Wang said that Saudi Arabia is an important member of the Arab and Islamic worlds and an independent force in the process of multipolarization."

"In recent years, under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as well as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, exchanges and cooperation across all fields between the two countries have progressed in a sound and steady manner, he said, adding China-Saudi relations have increasingly gone beyond the bilateral dimension, taking on growing strategic significance and global influence."

China Daily 

Washington Institute for Near-East Policy

 

Deliberately, the Trump administration has put its allies on notice of the withdrawal of the United States from its historical, post-WWII position as protector of Western democratic interests globally. Threats that surfaced with the potential to destabilize the security of Europe and allies further abroad brought the U.S. front and centre in its role as global policeman. The objective was always defence of democracy in the global order and with it the central position of capitalism, the engine that brought prosperity to Western economies.

 

When the people of the great United States of America decided to bring a dedicated businessman whose focus was always 'getting a deal' and winning concessions by coercive means to strike that deal whether it be real estate or tariffs, diplomatic tradition between allies was stood on its head. Allies could be casually dumped but the ultimate goal of mercantilism must always be pursued with the passion of amassing ever greater wealth, and that achievement came at a cost to former allies, so be it.

 

In pursuit of that wealth and the prestige that accompanied it, the Trump administration was more than willing to jettison its relations with Europe and its North American partners, and if any took umbrage at side-issues such as imperialist territorial gain, that was their problem. In surrendering the position of leader of global alliances, the United States forfeited the global esteem it had earned. Agitated, discomfited allies, realizing their new vulnerability huddled for support between themselves envisioning the plight of Ukraine under Moscow's military heel becoming their own.

 

Vladimir Putin attending a meeting with Xi Jinping during the Russian delegation’s visit to China in 2024. Photo: Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation

 

And so a report issued in Denmark asserts the reality facing Europe: that the United States is asserting its will, threatening military force against friend and foe alike. At the very time that China and Russia, taking advantage of the monumental split they see between the U.S. and its allies, recognize the opportunity to commit to their own, covert schemes to further diminish Western global dominion, particularly that of the United States. 

 

 Denmark is particularly offended as a NATO and European Union member as well as an ally of the United States to be facing a situation where President Donald Trump has eyed the military advantages as well as mineral deposits to be had in taking Greenland, nominally part of Denmark, at a time when both Russia and China are themselves preparing to influence and take possession of mineral deposits in the Arctic, and Russia has not been shy about building military installations in an assertion of sovereignty in disputed polar territories. 

 

Rising tensions in the resource-rich Arctic  The U.S. is monitoring military cooperation between Russia and China in the resource-rich Arctic. ABC News 

"Several articles published in September 2025 revived alarmist positions on threats to Canada’s sovereignty. Their authors paint a bleak picture of a Canada unable to control its Arctic territory and facing aggressive China and Russia, which have great ambitions for its territory."

"These grim scenarios include Russian icebreakers sailing through the waters of the Arctic archipelago, Chinese bases built without the knowledge of Canadian authorities, and even an attack on the Canadian Arctic by the Russian military."

"The problem is that this bleak picture is based on highly theoretical scenarios and irrelevant observations. Worse still, it probably misses the real issues, which lie both in the need for the Canadian government to ensure a governmental presence in the North and to counter any challenges to its sovereignty in the Beaufort Sea and the Northwest Passage by the United States."

Network for Strategic Alliances, Department of National Defense of Canada 

Northwest Passage, historical sea passage of the North American continent. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of what became Canada.

 

"The repeated violations of our airspace are unacceptable. The message is clear: Russia is testing the European Union and NATO."

"And our response must be firm, united and immediate."

"At today's meeting, we agreed to move from concept  to concrete actions."

"[Ministers backed a broad plan to bolster the EU's eastern defences; the] immediate priority [should be a] drone wall, with advanced detection, tracking, and interception capabilities."

EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius 

 

"[Ukraine is] ready to participate [in the project]."

"The drone wall will create a fundamentally new defence ecosystem in Europe, of which Ukraine is ready to be a part."

Ukraine's defence minister Denys Shmyhal  

A mobile radar installation is seen at the Danish military site on Amager, Pionegaarden, near the village of Dragoer and on the coast of Oresund, the sea between Denmark and Sweden, on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Steven Knap/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

The urgent need to create a "wall" of anti-drone defences following airspace violations by Russia, was unanimously agreed to by European Union countries on Friday. The threat that was made glaringly obvious this past week when  unidentified drones gave Denmark and Norway little option but to close down some of their airports gave sharp focus to the extent and breadth of the threat facing EU and NATO-member nations.

 

Online discussions were held by the EU defence commissioner with ministers from ten EU states located mostly along the bloc's eastern border. Ukraine, though not a member of the EU, was invited to take part in the discussions, given its proven capabilities to detect and disarm the missiles in their airspace by shooting down Russian drone swarms. 

 

The meeting participants agreed that focus would initially be on the development of a network of sensors to assist in better detection of such threatening incursions', feasibly on line within a year. Building full interception capabilities would take longer in the goal of intercepting the drones. Ursula von der Leyen, EU chief, in a keynote speech this month produced the first call for a "drone wall", mere hours following a NATO shoot-down of Russian drones in Poland. 

 

An engineer watches a Ukrainian-made quadcopter drone at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) 

NATO's initial response had little option given its unpreparedness, other than to use top-of-the-range fighter jets to fire expensive missiles with an aim of shooting down a handful of cheap Russian drones, emphasizing gaps in the alliance's arsenal for addressing such airborne threats. Since then, the alliance conveyed additional hardware to its eastern flank, yet the sort of low-cost capabilities of fending off Russian attack drones lack Ukraine's experience.

 

The proposal for the "drone wall" represents a portion of the broader impetus by Europe to  support an addition to its defences in recognition of the threats emanating from Russia. The program thus considered should be regarded as a new flagship defence project being worked on by the bloc in its response to Moscow's growing belligerence. 

 

Ukrainian soldiers prepare to launch an Avenger UAV drone in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. ( AP Photo/Yevhen Titov)

Europe's Russian Threat

"Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union."

"[Moscow is spending more on defence than the EU's 27 member states combined, and this year will invest more on defence than [on] its own health care, education and social policy combined."

"This is a long-term plan for a long-term aggression. You don't spend that much on [the] military, if you do not plan to use it."

"Europe is under attack and our continent sits in a world becoming more dangerous." 

"Today, against NATO and the EU, Russia doesn’t stand a chance. But we must stick together."

"When NATO leaders meet next week, keeping unity in the alliance is as much a priority as spending more on defence."

EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas 

Vladimir Putin during a visit to the Urakvagizavid factory, Russia's largest producer of tanks: Photo: Sputnik/Kremlin Pool/EPA

 

Acts of sabotage and cyberattacks by Russia toward members of the European Union have not endeared them to Moscow in their studied opinion of the Kremlin's plans post-Ukraine war. That Russian President Vladimir Putin has overseen a massive military spending spree leads to the conclusion that relations with Russia stand the potential of degrading even further than merely criticizing it for invading and annexing parts of  territorial Ukraine. That, if in the final analysis, Moscow achieves at least a part of its territorial aggression in Ukraine, it will continue to cast its malevolent eye on its squirming 'near abroad' seems inevitable.

 

There is a fairly general consensus among most EU members that Mr. Putin has plans for future use of his armed forces. Its ongoing airspace violations, provocative military exercises and energy grid attacks, on pipelines and undersea cables, represent in their opinion a testing of the waters, so to speak, as well as a deliberate move to deliver a message for the future. No one in Europe, they feel, can feel securely immune from Putin's roving eye and his territorial ambitions to make Greater Russia even greater at their expense.

 

According to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Russia is producing weapons and ammunition in three months in a quantity and of technical efficiency rivalling the entire output of the 32 allies combined can produce in a year. Russia, he believes, could be in a position to launch attacks on NATO allies come the end of the decade. Europe is becoming increasingly alarmed over the potential of Russia's capacity for mischief.

 

Vladimir Putin sits in a T-90AM tank at the Russian Expo Arms in the Urals city of Nizhniy Tagil in 2011. Photograph: Alexei Druzhinin/AP

 

Even to the extent that Russia might wish to test the organization's Article 5 security guarantee, the assurance to its members that should any one of their members come under attack, NATO would act as one in response; the entire 32-member alliance would be committed to militarily defend any one of their members coming under a military attack by an outside source. This is a pact that is taken seriously, presumably acting as a clear deterrent to any member-state of the alliance coming under attack from malign forces.

 

NATO allies officially recognized that significant and cumulative cyberattacks could be viewed as representing a situation analogous to an armed attack, and as such could lead to an invocation of Article 5. Although that recognition of a prevailing situation was formally accepted in 2021, those same attacks have continued, with the alliance making no move to counteract them collectively. A malign actor perceiving sound and fury but no reaction could very well make their own conclusions based on probing the intent and analyzing the lack of response.

 

Europe finds itself somewhat rudderless of late, with new realities brought to the fore under the Trump administration in the United States, their foremost sponsor for decades. Reliance on the steady commitment of the United States to guide and direct the alliance has come under the sharp new lens of an altered political environment, leaving Europe adrift in indecision, a quandary propelling it to commit to greater responsibility for the outcomes of its relations with outlier nations.

 

Europe feels more vulnerable without the assured military canopy of the United States under the Trump administration that blows hot and cold with conflicting positions and alarming statements issuing from the American president. It is learning to fend for itself. Its support for Ukraine in its battle against predatory Russia remains firm, albeit weary; a general feeling of reduced assurance in the precarious position it now finds itself in, makes the alliance both nervous and defiant.       

                       

Military hardware in Red Square during Russia’s annual Victory Day military parade in May 2022. Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

 

"We are very certain, and we have intelligence evidence for this, that Ukraine is just a step on the path to the West."

"[Russia's goal is to expand its sphere of influence westward]. They want to catapult NATO back to the state it was in at the  end of the 1990s."

"They want to kick America out of Europe, and they'll use any means to achieve that."

Bruno Kahl, German's Foreign Intelligence Service chief 

U.S. President Donald Trump's Trade War With Canada

"All gloves are off."

"Canada is being hit hard from its historically strongest ally, and it may be politically expedient to target individuals like Musk who garner outsized influence over the U.S. administration."

James Hinton, senior fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation

 

"Provinces would need to heavily subsidize new infrastructure to replace Starlink, which could take years to implement."

"Legally, targeting Musk's companies could be seen as overreach and Musk could sue in Canadian or U.S. courts to challenge such measures."

"[A bull's-eye on Musk's back also] risks looking like a personal vendetta rather than a rational economic response."

Andreas Schotter, professor of International business, University of Western Ontario Ivey School of Business

Starlink satellite antennas are seen at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA), the international trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, on August 31, 2023. Photo by ODD ANDERSEN /Getty

As it begins to appear more and more inevitable that Donald Trump is prepared to launch another painful trade war with Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union in his determination to, in his opinion, put a stop to other countries' reliance on America's generosity, helping them to fund their own economic advance to the detriment of that of the United States, former allies and trade partners are mulling their options in an effort to stop the roller-coaster destruction of the global economy.

 

Economists everywhere agree that a substantial trade war such as what Mr. Trump is gearing up for will have the end effect of harming the world's economy, as it plays havoc in targeted nations' economies, bringing many to the point of inflationary stress, certain to impact heavily on national populations' quality of life. There is also the recognition that the United States itself will not come away free from the impact of such a draconian move as Mr. Trump contemplates.

 

In Canada, government authorities at every level are making plans and consulting with one another in a combined effort to produce a protective shield as much as possible to avoid the harm certain to arise when a commanding country whose industries are enmeshed with those of the very countries being targeted will produce harmful effects that will bring economies to their knees. In Ontario, Canada's wealthiest province, a plan is afoot to target Elon Musk in recognition of his influence with the Trump White House. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his intention to begin the process by "ripping up" the province's $100 million contract with Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet provide operated by aerospace company Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Signed last November, the deal  was on tap to provide internet access for Canadians resident in rural communities. "Ontario won't do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy", blustered Premier Ford, leading other premiers to scrutinize their own Starlink contracts.

 

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford holds a news conference in Etobicoke on Feb. 3, 2025. Later Ford said, with the U.S. pausing tariffs, Ontario will also pause its retaliatory measures. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

 

A situation that elicited a shrug from Mr. Musk who responded to the Premier's X warning statement with a two-word "Oh well". This type of criticism will be no surprise to a man who has aligned himself so intimately with the Trump administration, taking on the role of efficiency czar to a President whose unexpected turn against his U.S. allies has drawn surprise and resentment from his international colleagues. 

 

Emmett Macfarlane, political science professor at University of Waterloo in Ontario, approved of the move to send a powerful message to Musk. "Appeasement does little to stop a bully. We should exercise our powers to punch the bully (metaphorically) in the nose", he said in support of the Starlink cancellation threat. 

Aside from the Starlink contract, there is the issue of Musk companies in operation across Canada; Tesla alone operates 32 stores, Canada's most popular electric vehicle brand. Should a 100 percent tariff be slapped on Tesla vehicles the purchase price would be pushed from its current $56,000 tab into a sphere most electric vehicle buyers would consider hands-off. 

Doug Ford, right, says Ontario is ending its contract with Starlink, the satellite company controlled by Elon Musk, left. Photo by Getty Images/The Canadian Press

"A $100 million contract when he's worth [over] $400 billion -- this is just a flea on his side."

"If we want to truly irritate the Americans, we need to move beyond thinking about what kind of ketchup we buy and think of ways of hitting their [digital] service providers without unduly harming Canadian consumers."

Daniel Trefler, trade economist, Canada research chair in competitiveness and prosperity, Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto