The Kremlin warns against premature conclusions, as reports mount that its air defenses misidentified the airliner as a Ukrainian drone

Tensions along NATO's eastern flank are high because of the risks posed by Russian military actions near the borders of alliance member states.

Russia is willing to work with Donald Trump's incoming administration to improve relations if the U.S. has serious intentions to do so but it is up to Washington to make the first move, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

"Most Europeans are herbivores, they think there is sufficient grass to feed from. This is not the case," said French Adm. Pierre Vandier.

Lithuania, which shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad as well as a border with Russian ally Belarus, will become the first nation to acquire the German-made MBT as part of Germany’s Common Procurement Agreement, which has aimed to improve Europe’s common defense capabilities.

European leaders are making clear ahead of the Trump presidency that they plan to spend more on defense as Russia remains a top threat and as security concerns in the Middle East and North Africa escalate.

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, tensions between the military alliance, which supports Kyiv in its defense efforts, and the Kremlin have continued.

NATO's strategy is sound but its allies lack the arsenals and manufacturing needed to carry it out in a long war, a new report found.

Russia is keen to disrupt, weaken or even divide NATO and one way of encouraging that might be to convince the U.S. that war is coming with the alliance in Europe and to ask America if it wants to be dragged into it. This especially matters as Trump's incoming administration forms its policies toward NATO and Russia.

NATO’s secretary-general says he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders.