Drone strikes near Polish border show Putin's 'desperation,' NATO's Rutte says

NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte stated on September 14 that Russian drone strikes near the NATO border demonstrate President Vladimir Putin's desperation. Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Rutte said Russia has become increasingly reckless in its war against Ukraine. On September 13, Russia launched drones against a gas station near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing in western Ukraine and a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train just 2 kilometers from the Polish border.

This attack brought the war dangerously close to Poland's border, with multiple strikes reported in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine's northwest. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European officials were on the train at the time of the attack. Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski described Poland's reaction to the incident as being treated with the utmost seriousness.

Rutte accused Putin of wanting to sow fear and terror to stop Western support for Ukraine and undermine unity. The attack also impacted the French presidential race, with center-right candidate Edouard Philippe using it to criticize far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has called for cutting aid to Ukraine if she wins. Le Pen was asked directly if she still wants to turn off the tap to Ukraine after Russia struck just a few hundred meters from the European Union.