The Russian fighter jets recently entered the Estonian airspace -a daring raid that only came nine days after 19 Russian drones had contracted the airspace of colleague -Navo member Poland. Although the Kremlin has denied all the deliberate violations of NATO air space, the proof suggests that both actions were almost certainly intentional.
These provocations seem to have been designed to test NATO for both operational and political weakness, and to tell the world that Vladimir Putin believes that he can behave with impunity in Ukraine and beyond. Indeed, all the recent Feints of Putin opposite peace were laid by his actions: he succeeded his Alaska -top with President Trump with the greatest air strikes on Ukraine of the past year, and ignored the cease -the president’s – -pro -Identrine.
While NATO continues its deliberations to a coordinated response to the Polish incident and now Estonia, a united, decisive and robust reprimand of the entire alliance is of the utmost importance. The Western Alliance did not succeed in putting on Russia in 2014, and again in 2022; Because Putin is now taking the fight even further in European territory, we cannot afford to show a weakness.
President Vladimir Putin speaks during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 20 June 2025 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Contributor/Getty images)
The US and our European allies must show Putin that his aggression will not be outstanding, and that the costs for him will only multiply the costs for him.
Trump lit a fire under NATO, but more needs to be done to control the Russia-China axis
NATO is already taking action to strengthen the defense of his eastern flank – a beneficial measure, but only one piece of the puzzle. The proposed withdrawal of American military support in the Baltic substances would send a disastrous signal to the Kremlin, in particular given the raid into Estonian airspace.
The congress and administration must work together to ensure that the American military presence in the Baltic States front line remains in place as an important part of NATO’s defensive architecture. America and our allies in Europe have to take extra steps to strengthen the defensive possibilities of the eastern border of NATO, to continue with iron security guarantees on Ukraine and Kiev the defensive and attacking weapons it needs to put Russia on the back.
We must also make it clear that Russia has torpedoed all prospects for peace talks for the near future. President Donald Trump has delivered a good faith to facilitate negotiations, but Putin has made it clear that he is not interested in peace. Continue with the fiction that he wants what we want – or worse, that there is some form of equality between Russia as the war -carrying party, and Ukraine, the victim of Russian aggression – only buys Putin and leverage.
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Subsequently, as President Trump has made it clear, Europe must now stop buying Russian oil and gas – now. It is absurd that after more than three years, some European countries continue to deliver Russia from the income it needs to wage this brutal war on their own continent. What is more, with President Trump, which again leads America to energy dominance, Europe will have alternative suppliers to turn to it – avoiding price increases and reducing valuable financing for Putin’s war effort.
The president is also right to insist on a coordinated campaign of financial pressure on Russia and its enablers. This should include punishing the Chinese banks that keep the war machine of the Kremlin in motion, impose crushing rates and secondary sanctions on the countries that hold the Kremlin up by oil, gas and uranium purchases. The congress should work on passing the dual bill of Sens. Lindsey Graham, RS.C. and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Who include the measures described above, as well as extensive restrictions on Russian financial entities and transactions and the Russian energy sector.
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President Trump understands that peace can only be protected by strength. That is why he insisted on Europe to take care of greater responsibility for his own safety in both his first and second administrations. As the former State Secretary, I know from experience that this insistence was not always welcome – but as we all know, it turned out to be ahead. The willingness of the president to have those difficult conversations with our European allies has resulted in the monumental deployment of 5% GDP defense declarations for NATO members -putting the Alliance on the right track to restore deterrence and restore the territorial integrity of Europe.
America must see through that project. It is crucial for the safety of Europe, and for the core interests of America, that we have this well – and that can only be done by imposing serious costs on Russia, and by showing Putin that his provocations have only strengthened NATO alliance.
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