It is reported that an AFP journalist was also on board when the aircraft was taking off. During this time, an attempt was made to jam it by the Russian air defense system. French

Germany, Poland, Britain, France and Italy will implement as swiftly as possible new NATO targets for weapons and troop numbers which the alliance is about to agree upon, German Defence Minister Pistorius pledged on Monday.

The U.K., France and other allies have discussed the possibility of deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as the war escalates.

NATO allies are facing an intensified threat from Russia, Mark Rutte said.

"We also agreed to work closely with key allies on achieving peace and developing effective security guarantees," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.

France has said several dozen Ukrainian troops deserted the 155th "Anne of Kyiv" brigade while undergoing training in France.

NATO members face an "impossible task" trying to protect their vast network of critical undersea cables and pipelines from sabotage, the head of the alliance's centre for securing the

Nato asks every member country to spend at least 2% of national income - also known as GDP - on defence. It is thought that 23 countries met that target in 2024, compared to only three in 2014. The countries which spend the largest share of GDP on defence are the US and those close to Russia, such as Poland and the Baltic states.

The EU's two leading members were reacting to the US president-elect's plans to acquire Denmark's autonomous territory.

France and Germany on Wednesday warned Donald Trump against threatening "sovereign borders" after the US president-elect refused to rule out military action to take Greenland, an autonomous territory of European Union member Denmark.

The alliance has stepped up intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities around the Baltic Sea amid concerns of Russian gray zone warfare.