Eastern European leaders are demanding that U.S. President Donald Trump keep U.S. troops on NATO’s Eastern flank after a wave of Russian air and drone incursions, warning that Putin is “pushing the limits” and will “believe only what he sees” from allied defenses, reported Fox News.
In interviews with Fox News Digital, ministers from Estonia, Lithuania and Romania said the alliance must harden its posture—moving from air policing to integrated air and missile defenses, sharpening rules of engagement and sustaining U.S. troop rotations—to prevent Russia from normalizing violations and eroding Article 5 credibility. They paired the military message with calls for tighter sanctions and an end to European energy dependence that funds the Kremlin’s war machine.
Their appeals land as Washington weighs a new national security strategy aimed at prioritizing homeland defense. Before the most recent incursions, U.S. officials had cautioned allies to prepare for a reduction of the American footprint, pressing Europe to take on a greater share of the burden.
“We hope U.S. troops remain in the region. Their presence secures peace and sends a clear signal,” Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. “Putin understands only the language of strength. His goal is the restoration of the Soviet empire.”
Even more provocative was acting president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request to President Donald Trump this week for Tomahawk cruise missiles. Zelenskyy told “The Axios Show” on Sept. 24 that he’d asked Trump for an additional weapons system that—he claimed—could force Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter peace talks, perhaps without Ukraine even having to use it. Zelenskyy did not name that weapons system during his interview with Axios host Barak Ravid, but he said that if Russia knew Ukraine had it, the pressure to talk would greatly increase.
A Ukrainian official and another source familiar with the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting confirmed that Zelenskyy asked Trump for the Tomahawk cruise missile which can hit targets more than 2,000 km away. According to Axios, Ukraine has raised Tomahawks with the U.S. several times over the past year, including in a list of hardware Kiev requested several months ago. It was the only weapons system on the list that Trump did not agree to sell to NATO countries on Ukraine’s behalf, according to a source with knowledge of that process.
“By the way, we need it, but it doesn’t mean that we will use it. Because if we will have it, I think it’s additional pressure on Putin to sit and speak,” he claimed. Zelenskyy alluded to the idea that conditions could be placed on Ukraine’s use of the system depending on Russia’s conduct.
