What you need to know

• NATO defense ministers are to look at ways to boost the alliance’s ability to defend against airspace violations by Russia and bolstering support for Ukraine   
• The meeting comes after a study showed Western military aid to Ukraine dropped by 43% in July and August compared with the first half of the year
• NATO chief Mark Rutte says the alliance is working with the EU to create a “drone wall”
• The World Health Organization says a UN convoy including one of its teams was attacked on Tuesday    

       Here is a roundup of news related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on October 15, 2025.Skip next section Germany will step up contribution to air policing — defense minister

Germany will step up contribution to air policing — defense minister

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said his country will increase its contribution to policing European airspace following a spate of Russian aerial incursions and mysterious drone sightings.

Germany was prepared to take the lead in any EU air defense shield, Reuters news agency reported. 

At a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Pistorius said Germany would send Eurofighters to carry out patrol flights in Poland, which saw a major Russian drone incursion in September, as well as spend €10 billion ($11.6 billion) on all kinds of drones in the coming years.

“We will contribute to protecting the eastern flank with patrol flights,” he said, adding Germany would be “more active, more present and more visible” on NATO’s eastern border. 

When asked whether Germany would help finance US Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, he said a decision would be taken when the time came to do so.

 US President Donald Trump says he is currently considering whether to allow the long-range Tomahawks, which would enable Ukraine to carry out attacks far within Russia, to be purchased by or for Kyiv.

Russian drones unite Europe behind Ukraine

US’ Hegseth calls on NATO states to buy more US arms for Ukraine

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday called on NATO member states to purchase more weapons for Ukraine under his country’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) scheme, which has replaced US arms donations to Kyiv. 

“Our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion,” he told reports ahead of a meeting with other NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he expected further pledges, noting that $2 billion (€1.7 billion) already had been committed through the mechanism.

Sweden, Estonia and Finland pledged contributions on Wednesday, joining a number of other European countries, including Germany, who are already purchasing weapons through the scheme

Spain, Italy, France and Britain have so far not joined, drawing criticism from Washington.

Under the Trump administration, the US, previously a major supplier of military aid to Ukraine, has ceased donating military equipment to Kyiv.

According to Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, most military aid to Ukraine now flows through PURL.

However, it reported on Tuesday that military aid to Ukraine fell nonetheless by 43% in July and August compared with the first half of the year.

Trump’s Tomahawk dilemma: Ukraine’s hopes, Russia’s warnings

Ukrainian authorities order more evacuations around Kupiansk

Families living in villages near the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk have been ordered to leave their homes amid what local authorities have called the “worsening security situation” in the region.

Russian forces have been advancing on Kupiansk for months as they push westward through central and eastern Ukraine.

The governor of northeastern Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, wrote on Telegram that a total of 409 families with 601 children were told to leave 27 localities.

A local official later told the public broadcaster Suspilne the number of localities affected had risen to 40.

Civilians flee as Russia pressures Ukraine to cede Donetsk

WHO team came under attack in Ukraine — UN says

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said an UN convoy, including a team from his agency, came under attack in southern Ukraine on Tuesday while on an aid mission.

He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the team managed to deliver medical supplies to the city of Bilozerka, in the Kherson district, despite the incident, adding that two World Food Programme trucks were damaged.

“Attacks on humanitarians must end,” Tedros wrote in his statement.  

NATO seeks to bolster defense capability as Russia seems to test alliance’s strength

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels amid fears that Russia is probing the alliance’s reactions with a number of high-profile incursions into its members’ airspace.

Among other things, the ministers are expected to discuss establishing what the EU calls a “drone wall” to counter the Russian threat, a project NATO chief Mark Rutte said was being worked on jointly with the bloc.

Europe has seen a recent spate of mysterious drone flights that have disrupted airports and flown close to military sites in several countries.

NATO is currently looking at incorporating low-cost technologies, such as those used by Ukraine, into its anti-drone defenses.

Current anti-drone systems rely largely on expensive missiles and aircraft.

The ministers are also to look at shoring up support for Ukraine against Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its territory, with a study released on Tuesday showing a major drop in Western military aid to Kyiv in recent months.

The study by Germany’s Kiel Institute showed such support dropping by 43% iin July and August compared to the first half of the year, even after Kyiv’s European allies began purchasing US arms for Ukraine under a US scheme known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).

Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have all bought weapons under the scheme, but Italy and Spain, among others, have sent very little. France does not intend to take part in the arrangement.

Spain’s defense minister, Margarita Robles Fernandez, is also likely to come under pressure from her US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, over Madrid’s failure to meet NATO spending targets. 

This failure already drew criticism last week from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to throw Spain out of NATO if it did not comply.