Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
What happened
The European Union yesterday accused Russia of “reckless escalation” after Romania said Moscow had flown a drone over its territory for nearly an hour Saturday night. Poland last week shot down at least three of 19 Russian drones sent deep into its airspace, in NATO’s first military engagement with Russia during the Ukraine war. But Romania said its F-16s decided it was safer to only monitor the drone there.
Who said what
Russia claimed last week’s incursion over Poland was an accident and President Donald Trump also suggested it “could have been a mistake,” but Poland, other NATO countries and security analysts said Moscow was deliberately testing NATO’s resolve and defenses.
Trump said Saturday he was “ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations” have stopped “buying oil from Russia.” Most NATO nations did so after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, but not Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia, all of which are “led by Trump allies,” The Washington Post said. “Instead of looking for a solution,” former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the Post, Trump seems to be “looking for a way out.”
What next?
Trump, who is “resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector,” also pushed NATO allies to slap steep tariffs on China for buying Russian oil, The Wall Street Journal said. Russia “remains the world’s second-largest oil exporter,” The Associated Press said, but Moscow has “paused gasoline exports” amid shortages from rising demand and “sustained Ukrainian drone strikes” on its oil refineries, including a hit early Sunday on the large Kirishi refinery outside St. Petersburg.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for February 16Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include President's Day, a valentine from the Epstein files, and more
-
Regent Hong Kong: a tranquil haven with a prime waterfront spotThe Week Recommends The trendy hotel recently underwent an extensive two-year revamp
-
The problem with diagnosing profound autismThe Explainer Experts are reconsidering the idea of autism as a spectrum, which could impact diagnoses and policy making for the condition
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Trump links funding to name on Penn StationSpeed Read Trump “can restart the funding with a snap of his fingers,” a Schumer insider said
-
Trump reclassifies 50,000 federal jobs to ease firingsSpeed Read The rule strips longstanding job protections from federal workers
