Putin is ‘not looking to attack Nato territory’, says Donald Trump – despite attempted drone strike on a German airport
Donald Trump has said he does not believe Vladimir Putin intends to attack Nato territory, dismissing concerns raised by a suspected Russian drone strike on Leipzig-Halle airport in Germany. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he knew Putin well and did not see him as a threat to Nato, a stance likely to reignite doubts about America's commitment to the alliance at a time when European officials view such incidents as part of a deliberate Russian hybrid warfare campaign against Ukraine's supporters.
The airport, which handles military cargo for Nato allies and hosts Ukraine's Antonov Airlines, saw explosive-laden drones found near a Ukrainian jet and a Nato logistics hub in August; US intelligence reportedly linked DNA on one device to a 2024 sabotage incident at the same site. Britain summoned a senior Russian diplomat and Prime Minister Andy Burnham voiced "full solidarity" with Germany, while the EU said the attack bore "all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism". Trump's remarks come as he dispatches envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv in a fresh bid to end the four-year war, following CIA director John Ratcliffe's earlier warning to the Kremlin against escalation.
- Trump says Putin isn't targeting Nato despite German airport drone attack
- Explosive drones found near Ukrainian jet and Nato logistics hub in Leipzig
- Kushner and Witkoff head to Moscow and Kyiv with new peace plan
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Putin has denied planning any attack on Nato countries, but a suspected Russian drone strike on Leipzig-Halle airport in Germany last month has raised concerns among European officials. The airport is significant because it handles military cargo for Nato allies and hosts a Ukrainian cargo airline, so any attack there touches directly on the alliance's support for Ukraine. Explosive-laden drones were found close to a Ukrainian aircraft and a Nato logistics site, and US intelligence is reported to have linked evidence from one drone to an earlier sabotage incident at the same airport in 2024.
Nato is the military alliance of the US, UK, most of Europe and some other countries, built on the principle that an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. European governments increasingly describe incidents like drone incursions and sabotage as part of a "hybrid warfare" campaign by Russia, designed to pressure and destabilise countries backing Ukraine without amounting to open war. Donald Trump, as US president, has taken a notably different tone from many European leaders, saying he does not see Vladimir Putin as a threat to Nato territory.
This matters because the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, has left Western allies divided over how seriously to treat Russian actions beyond Ukraine's borders, and over how far the US remains committed to defending Nato allies. Trump's comments come as he sends envoys to Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to broker an end to the conflict, making the question of how much pressure to put on Russia especially significant right now.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those sympathetic to Trump's assessment would argue that a level-headed, non-alarmist approach is essential to ending a brutal four-year war, and that treating every drone incident as proof of imminent aggression against Nato risks a self-fulfilling escalatory spiral. They would note that isolated sabotage or provocation incidents, however serious, are not the same as a coordinated military assault on Alliance territory, and that Russia has so far avoided direct confrontation with Nato forces despite years of war in Ukraine. From this view, dispatching envoys to pursue a negotiated settlement reflects a considered judgement that dialogue, not heightened rhetoric, offers the best chance of peace, and that overstating Russian intent could undermine those efforts just as they gain traction.
The case against
Those alarmed by Trump's remarks would argue that they understate a well-documented pattern of Russian hybrid warfare, in which sabotage and drone incursions are deliberately calibrated to test Alliance resolve while staying below the threshold that would trigger a full Nato response. They would point to the DNA evidence linking the device to an earlier 2024 sabotage attempt at the same airport as proof of a sustained campaign rather than an isolated act, and to the EU's description of state-sponsored terrorism as reflecting a considered, shared assessment among allies. For this camp, public reassurances from the US president risk signalling complacency to Moscow at precisely the moment unity and vigilance are needed, potentially eroding European confidence in America's commitment to collective defence.