Most NATO Allies Cannot Repel Russian Missile Attack, Latvia Says

Most NATO member states would be unable to intercept a Russian missile assault if the conflict broadens, and Europe is failing to keep pace with the rapid evolution of drone warfare in Ukraine, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs warned. According to The Guardian, Rinkēvičs stated that technological adaptations in unmanned systems and aerial combat are progressing at “lightning speed” on Ukrainian battlefields, cautioning that Western defense procurement and preparation timelines risk becoming obsolete by mid-2027.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “What we see is that air defence, drone defence, anti-ballistic defence has serious problems,” Rinkēvičs said. “And let’s be frank. Ukraine has it. The whole of Europe and NATO has it.” The Latvian head of state emphasized that the alliance’s defensive gaps leave member nations exposed in the event of direct Russian escalation. “Because if Russia decides to use a couple of missiles in that territory, I think that would be a serious challenge today for many countries to cope with that,” he added. Interceptor shortages Rinkēvičs’s warning arrives as European allies and Ukraine confront severe bottlenecks in acquiring Patriot batteries and high-end surface-to-air interceptors. According to analyses of Congressional Budget Office assessments, the US has expended nearly two-thirds of its critical interceptor inventories during military operations in the war against Iran, with defense planners estimating that replenishing American strategic reserves could require at least five years. Other Topics of Interest US Law Makes Deporting Ukrainian Children Grounds for Sanctions A new US sanctions law makes the deportation of Ukrainian children statutory grounds for asset freezes and visa bans on Russian officials. While Washington has reviewed proposals to outsource Patriot missile production or license manufacturing to European and Ukrainian defense contractors, formal multilateral co-production frameworks have yet to be finalized. “It’s up to the United States government, it’s up to the company,” Rinkēvičs noted, acknowledging the administrative and intellectual property hurdles involved in defense licensing. “We have some capacities in Europe, but let’s face it: Patriots are still one of the best, if not the best, to tackle this.” Eastern flank warnings The Latvian president’s assessment aligns with mounting concern across NATO’s eastern flank regarding deliberate Russian provocations and testing of allied collective defense commitments. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned the Polish parliament that intelligence dispatches indicate Russian operational blueprints include hybrid drone and missile strikes against nations supporting Kyiv, including Poland. Tusk cautioned that Moscow could orchestrate strikes entering allied airspace while claiming they were accidental deviations, aiming to erode alliance cohesion and portray NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense guarantee as “more theoretical than practical.” The warning followed consecutive incidents along Poland’s eastern frontier, including a Russian drone crashing within kilometers of Polish territory during an assault on western Ukraine. Concurrently, US President Donald Trump stated to reporters on Friday, Sept. 18, that Russia has attacked Ukraine’s allies for “about five years,” treating Russian hybrid warfare, physical sabotage, and cross-border airspace breaches as an established reality facing European partners. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.