Russia's Massive Drone Barrage Alarms Europe

Russia launched a massive overnight barrage — Zelenskyy said more than 500 strike drones and dozens of missiles — that struck infrastructure across Ukraine, killing at least five people and wounding others, with heavy impacts reported in western regions including Lviv and Sumy. The same Shahed‑type drone threat spilled into NATO airspace, with incidents over Poland, Romania, Denmark and other European countries that forced airport closures, scrambled jets and raised eastern‑flank readiness amid fears of wider confrontation. Investigators are probing whether ships from Russia’s “shadow fleet,” notably the tanker Boracay, have been used to launch or control drones over European airspace. Ukraine and partners have responded with offensive and defensive measures: Ukrainian special forces and drones have struck Russian radar and refinery targets, pro‑Ukrainian partisans have sabotaged rail links to alleged Shahed assembly sites inside Russia, and Ukrainian teams demonstrated a low‑cost Sting interceptor in Denmark as a practical countermeasure. The converging threats have intensified calls across NATO and the EU for faster deliveries of air‑defence systems, accelerated deployment of layered counter‑UAV defenses, and coordinated action to deter further escalation.