Europe Today: NATO chief Mark Rutte joins Euronews' Defence and Space Summit in Brussels

Good morning, it's Wednesday, September the 30th. You're watching Euronews, and this is Europe Today. Coming up. Today, Euronews is hosting its biggest news event ever. The Defence and Space Summit 2026 in Brussels is bringing together policymakers, industry executives, security experts and innovators to discuss the future of European defence. From the NATO Secretary-General to EU Commissioners, from Defence Ministers to Ambassadors to CEOs, the day-long conference will bring exclusive insights on one of the defining topics of our time. We'll have the latest for you. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to boost the army by more than 15,000 troops in the fourth such order this year. Putin previously signed decrees boosting the size in March, June and July. The combined increase since March amounts to almost 48,000 soldiers. Russia's President did not state the reason for the decision, but it has been taken against the backdrop of rising losses in Moscow's full-scale war in Ukraine. And a British investigation into a suspected bomb plot at an airbase used by the United States was mired in confusion yesterday, after media reported no explosives were detected in the vehicle seized nearby. That eased fears that an attack had been foiled, but left many questions unanswered. As armed guards maintained a cordon around a nearby village, Washington questioned the decision to release on bail five men arrested near the Royal Air Force's Fairford base in southwest England. Welcome to the program, I'm Stephan Grober. With Europe facing escalating hybrid threats and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, governments across the continent are racing to rebuild their armies and strengthen their defenses. Today, Euronews brings together the people shaping the defense of tomorrow, from procurement and intelligence to crisis response and military readiness, at our Defense and Space Summit here in Brussels. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is among the senior leaders joining us, alongside defense ministers, military commanders, and industry chiefs. Our Europe editor Maria Taddeo is joining us now, and she'll be sitting down with Rutte later today. Good morning, Maria. So, European defense, what are the big themes we're looking out for here? Yes, good morning, Stephan, and it is very much about security and it is very much about defense. We're seeing certainly in this continent an active war, the war in Ukraine, in a sharp escalation since August, that ceasefire nowhere to be seen, that is having big security repercussions for the rest of the European Union. Obviously, it also impacts NATO supporting Ukraine in that war, but that has also complicated the picture, as you alluded to, with the perception of escalating, it's not just a perception, of course, but escalating hybrid warfare and hybrid attacks from Russia on the eastern flank. And certainly, there has been a sense over the past three weeks that this security picture, not just for Ukraine, but also for the rest of the European global security, has deteriorated. That is one of the questions that we'll put to our guests. The other big element to this conference really is about the defense industry, the contracts, and the money, because there is money to be spent. You've seen in some of the countries, including like yours, major money put forward to rebuild armies in Europe, but when is this going to happen? What is the timeline? And also, how can you fix some of the delays and the bottlenecks when it comes to the procurement? And there's another fundamental question, which really is, who do you buy from? Is this a made-in-Europe story, or do you still rely on the U.S.? At this stage, there's another big location, or dislocation, I should note, and that is President Trump pushing to a different strategy when it comes to NATO, that NATO 3.0, which sends a clear picture. Going forward, the Europeans need to take care of their security, and they will have to provide for their defense. Maria, you will be speaking with Mark Rutte. What do we expect? Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, the head of NATO at a difficult time, because there is, of course, an active war in Europe, but there is a second one in the Middle East, that is a war in Iran, having major repercussions in the energy market. Mark Rutte is also a man who has a difficult job at a difficult time. He needs to keep the alliance engaged. We've seen the Secretary General really pushing to take those wishes from President Trump to see more money spent in the alliance come to fruition. At the same time, he needs, and that is a big challenge to his job, to keep the U.S. aligned and to keep the U.S. as an active participant in this security alliance that is NATO, because Stefan, let's be honest, if there is a ceasefire, both in Iran and in Ukraine, it is President Trump sitting around the table who is going to have ultimately a final say. So this is a man who is leading an alliance at a fragile moment, but also an alliance where you see money really come to fruition. You see now countries stepping up and you see those new defense targets and goals. Some of the questions, of course, I will put to Mark Rutte in this event. All right. Our Europe editor, Maria Tadeo, thank you very much. Ukraine is racing to scale up a new generation of intercepted drones as Russia increasingly deploys jet-powered drones in its attacks. EU News gained exclusive access to an air defense position protecting the Kiev region and spoke exclusively to the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Kirill Budanov, about the technology being developed to counter the new threat. Our correspondent, Sasha Vakulina, joins us now from Kiev. Good morning, Sasha. So what is the latest? What can you tell us? Another rather sleepless night here in the capital with the air defense working non-stop. Kiev residents woke up by around 3 a.m. local time with at least 10 explosions as Ukrainian air defense were intercepting the incoming ballistic missiles on top of the endless drone attacks. Now, Ukraine is currently working on the technology to intercept Russia's new jet-powered drones. And I spoke exclusively to Kirill Budanov, the head of the office of the president of Ukraine, who told me the technology is already being implemented. Moreover, it is being tested at the battlefield. And he said that the challenge now is to be able to scale up the production of these interceptors. But he is confident that it will be possible to do before the cold comes here, before the winter in Ukraine. And he also told Euronews confirmed that the countries who have already signed the drone deals with Ukraine or who are negotiating those drone deals with Kiev will have access to these new interceptors capable of stopping Russia's jet-powered drones. This isn't about any specific product. In principle, it's about cooperation between countries on similar products, so to speak. So Ukraine's latest technologies, which are currently being scaled up, including interceptors for jet-powered drones, could also become part of agreements with the European countries? Anyone who has made such agreements with us has the right to continue negotiations on specific products. Euronews was also given exclusive access to some of the air-defense troops working in the Kiev region to see what the changing threat means for them, for those people who are indeed in charge of protecting the skies. Now, they told us that when a jet-powered drone is incoming, there are about 10 seconds before it can reach Kiev. And this is more or less the time that they also have to be able and to prepare to shoot it down, between 10 to 15 seconds. And of course, this intensity is taking its toll on the cruise as well. Some of these troops I talked to in Kiev and in the region of the capital told me that over the past couple of days or even weeks, they could only do about an hour and an hour and a half of sleep. We also talked to Pavlo Tsugunov, who is aircraft battery commander, and he described the pressure on his crews under why these new jet-powered drones are so difficult for some of the existing systems to intercept and what exactly the troops are doing to do that nevertheless. First of all, there is this constant pressure. The enemy is constantly putting both those defending the skies and civilians under pressure. In my view, this is a tactic aimed at intimidating the civilian population. Since the Russians are not currently making progress in direct combat on the front, they are trying to frighten the population into withdrawing its support from the military and ultimately to force the military to accept capitulation. Sasha Vakulina reporting from Kiev, as ever, thank you very much. An important element in Russia's war machine is Belarus, a neighboring country with pariah status in Europe. Conversely, Alexander Lukashenko's regime benefits from Moscow's support. But unlike in Russia, there is a strong pro-democracy movement in Belarus that is preparing in exile for the end of the dictatorship in Minsk. The opposition leader is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who works tirelessly for her country's freedom, as she did yesterday at the European Parliament in Brussels. I had the opportunity to speak with her about her take on the likelihood of the war in Ukraine spilling over into the EU. Look, I don't know what the plans of Russia and Lukashenko's regime are, but we're seeing what's happening in Belarus, for example, how the regime is building new infrastructure that is not supposed to be there if the country is not preparing for escalation or provocation. So, I think that Europe has to be aware of what might happen, and experts say about the Slovakia gap, about threats to Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and we already see these hybrid attacks on these countries. We see drones flying over their territories. We see these balloons over Lithuania that interrupt airspace. We saw already attacks on trains near Polish borders. So, we see how Russia is trying to test how far it will go until there will be reaction. But I'm absolutely sure that if such physical attacks will take place, they most certainly will use Belarusian territory, while Lukashenko is there, who is serving to Russia's interest. So, that's why I encourage our European partners that please help Belarusians to get Belarus out of Russia's claws, to make Belarus a reliable partner and not the source of constant threat, because these attacks on NATO alliance, it might happen at any moment. How would you describe Lukashenko's role in the current conflict? Lukashenko is the puppet of Putin's regime. He's ready to sell independence, sovereignty of Belarus, just in exchange of political and economic support. He wants to personally survive as politician. And in 2020, Putin saved him, saved Lukashenko. Now Lukashenko is paying his debts. He's on the leash. And the issue is how long is the leash. Putin can shorten it or make it longer. But it's illusion that we can, like, drag Lukashenko from Putin. They have this symbiotic relationship. They need each other. They use each other. And that's why I don't think that Lukashenko can be re-educated or that he can turn his eyes to Europe. Would you say that the moment Putin's reign comes to an end, that would also be the end of Lukashenko's regime in Minsk? Look, I rather often hear from politicians that, oh, until something changes will come to Russia, nothing will change in Belarus. But I'm absolutely confident that changes in Russia can start from the changes in Belarus, because in Belarus society is more consolidated. You know, we know that we voted against Lukashenko in 2020, and these anti-regime moods, they're still there, despite repressions, despite political prisoners. And, you know, it's much easier, you know, to help Belarusians to win our country back than to work with Russia and persuade all the Russians that they have to stop their imperial ambitions. You know, the contexts are different in Belarus and Russia. Recently, NATO shot down a drone over Lithuania. Is that a sufficiently strong message to Moscow? And how should NATO react if this happens again? You know, when this drone fell down, there was almost no reaction from NATO. Like, the drone didn't kill anybody. Like, maybe it's accidental. The next drone might harm somebody. So, you know, Russia also watches what will be the reaction from the Western countries. There is no reaction. OK, they can go further and further, as I said, test the borders. And, of course, among the population, you know, this narrative is intensifying that the war can start, there might be attacks on Lithuania. And Lithuanian people, for example, they're not sure that NATO alliance, you know, other countries will come to rescue them. We have to take example from Ukraine, you know, because before it was only attacked by Russia. Now it is attacking back. I'm not, like, encouraging Europe to attack back immediately, but just to be prepared for possible counterattack, you know, if this happens, Europe has to be ready for this. I have one more. Your answer can be short. If you had one message to European leaders about the Russian-Belarusian drone threat, what would it be? Don't panic, but be prepared. That was Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya. Let's return to the Euronews Defence Summit happening this morning here in Brussels. The transatlantic partnership is under pressure like never before as a result of the second Trump administration's transactional America First policies, which, among other things, includes a major shift away from the US role in European security. All of this while the continent grapples with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, soon to be marking five years. At the summit today, we'll speak exclusively to US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. I'm joined now from there by our NATO correspondent Shona Murray. Good morning, Shona. Good to see you. What do you hope to hear from Ambassador Whitaker about the role of the US in European security? Well, good morning, Stefan. Indeed, we knew that the United States has moved significantly from its traditional role as guarantor of European security to a situation where it's withdrawing capabilities, conventional capabilities, and also in the next few months will announce a significant reduction in troops all across NATO territory. Now, this has been a priority for the Trump administration. It was well flagged. But the problem for Europe is that it's happening while there's Russian aggression in Ukraine and escalating Russian aggression all across NATO territory with these increased hybrid attacks. So we'll be asking the ambassador a bit about this and whether he believes this is not just about intimidating countries to stop supporting Ukraine, but also about testing NATO unity, which is a lot of the secret services across Europe are saying it is. So the question is, will the United States be there for NATO if this were to happen? Other questions are very important around the scarcity of important patriotic interceptors that are very patriot systems that are very important for Ukraine and intercepting ballistic missiles. And overall, a conversation about NATO relations with Donald Trump and his NATO allies, given the conflict and the confrontation over the war in Iran. So all of that coming up this morning, Stefan. Also, Shona, yesterday, the Estonian government formally attributed responsibility to Russia for an attack on a defense company, the second of its kind. Undoubtedly, this will feature as part of today's summit. Tell us what happened. Well, this situation overall was very much dominant today, because we are seeing Russia being less risk averse when it comes to these attacks all across NATO territory, and the fact that they're much more violent and kinetic. And the one in Estonia was very similar to that in Leipzig airport in Germany in August, where this was a sabotage, an arson attack on a robotics defense company in Tallinn in mid-August. The Estonians came out yesterday and said, according to their secret services, that they can confirm with certainty, conclude with certainty that the arson attack was an act of sabotage ordered by the special services of the Russian Federation. The second time a NATO country has said that this is definitely Russia, which means that countries themselves are becoming much more confrontational with the Kremlin. Now, what does this mean? It means that it's an escalation in tensions, but that doesn't mean that they want to go to war per se. But certainly relations are getting that much more tense. Stefan. All right, Shona Mari there for us. Thank you very much for that update. And that does it for us today. Make sure you follow our Defense Summit on TV and online. Thank you for watching. I'm Stefan Grobe and I see you tomorrow.