By Iulian Ernst in Bucharest The Nato countries forming the Bucharest Nine (B9) format, meeting in Romania’s capital city on September 18, called for a 'joint air defence' system in response to the Russian “slow flying objects” (drones) that are increasingly violating allied airspace during attacks against Ukraine.

A close ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Western governments on Thursday that a nuclear war would ensue if they gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

After a decade at the helm of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg will be replaced by the Netherlands' Mark Rutte from the 1. October. He gave a farewell speech on Thursday where he said "Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before.