Drone sightings, threats and an arms race raise spectre of war.
After nearly four years of war between Kyiv and Moscow, fighting is heating up on the front lines of eastern Ukraine.
But with drones spotted at sensitive sites across the European Union, its leaders have declared Russia is fighting a hybrid war beyond Ukraine’s borders.
They say the bloc will protect “every centimetre” of its territory, as member states scale up military spending to heights not seen for decades.
And although only Ukraine and Russia are officially at war, the continent has now entered an arms race that is reshaping its economies, rattling governments and reframing relationships within the EU itself.
All this comes as Ukraine is losing territory to Russia, one kilometre at a time.
So, is war really edging closer to Europe’s borders? And is the continent prepared?
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Stefan Wolff – Professor of international security at the University of Birmingham
Alexander Bratersky – Independent journalist, and former reporter for the Moscow Times and Defence News
Alexandre Vautravers – Associate fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Published On 12 Nov 2025
