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A prominent Western leader fears the US may not come to Europe's aid in such a horrifying move.
10:13, Fri, Apr 24, 2026 Updated: 10:37, Fri, Apr 24, 2026
Vladimir Putin could attack NATO territory in months, Donald Tusk fears (Image: Getty)
Vladimir Putin could attack NATO territory in months, a prominent Western leader has warned. Polish premier Donald Tusk revealed he fears that the US may not come to Europe’s aid in such a move.
The "biggest, most important question" is whether the United States is ready to be a loyal NATO partner in the event of a Russian attack. His warning of "something really serious" comes amid speculation that Putin is eyeing Western islands in the Baltic Sea to test the Alliance’s resolve and the effectiveness of its Article 5 defence umbrella.
"For the whole eastern flank, my neighbours... the question is if NATO is still an organisation ready, politically and also logistically, to react, for example against Russia if they try to attack," he told the Financial Times. "I'm talking about short-term perspectives, rather months than years... For us, it's really important to know that everyone will treat the NATO obligations as seriously as Poland."
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk. (Image: Getty)
The Polish premier said: “Washington treats Poland as the best and the closest ally in Europe. But for me, the real problem is what it is in practice if something happens.”
“I want to believe that [Article 5] is still valid, but sometimes, of course, I have some problems. I don’t want to be so pessimistic, but what we need today is also practical context,” he added.
His concern reflects doubts across the continent that Donald Trump may not commit US troops to fight off a Putin assault on Western territory. The country in most jeopardy is seen as Baltic state Estonia, where around 900 British troops are stationed.
Sweden’s Chief of Defence, Michael Claesson, has warned Russia is scheming to occupy an island belonging to a Western state in the Baltic Sea in a test for NATO.
Among the larger islands that could be threatened are Sweden's Gotland, Denmark's Bornholm or Estonia's Hiiumaa and Saaremaa.
“What you need if you want to have, not only on paper, a real alliance, is true tools and real power when it comes to defence instruments and mobility of militaries from country to country etc. It's a very practical problem for today,” said Tusk.
"This is why my obsession now and my mission is to reintegrate Europe. It means common defence... a common effort to protect our eastern borders.” A fear is that Putin, bogged down in the Ukraine war where he is suffering daily reversals and with an economy in trouble, may pivot to an attack on NATO. Russia today accused NATO of rehearsing a seizure of its Baltic exclave during military exercises.
Recently Putin’s senior officials have warned - falsely - that Ukrainian drones are overflying NATO territory in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland to stage attacks on Russian oil ports in the Baltic Sea. The secretary of the Russian security council Sergei Shoigu warned of Russia’s “inherent right” to self-defence.
Shoigu alleged: “Recently, there have been increasingly frequent cases of attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russia via Finland and the Baltic states. As a result, civilians suffer and significant damage is caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Specifying Ukrainian strikes crippling the oil ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk, another close Putin aide Nikolai Patrushev - a former FSB security service chief - accused NATO states of being “complicit in these crimes”.
Hardliner MP Andrei Kolesnik said Shoigu was issuing a “final” warning, with Putin’s authority, and the Baltic states should not make the “mistake” of acting with “impunity” against Russia.
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