I’ve been in Finland watching a NATO drill as troops from across the alliance were worked on resisting a Russian invasion. But while there, the struggle of operating a tank in a 21st century battlefield was made very clear. Here’s an extract of my story: Hidden in dense woodland 18 miles from the Russian border, Nato anti-tank teams lie in wait to ambush a Finnish column. The scrape of metal tracks across a dirt road pierces the silent forest as the pack of German-made Leopard 2 tanks charges forward. Without warning, camouflaged soldiers break cover from the treeline and unleash a volley of missiles at the heavily armoured vehicles before the Finnish conscripts have time to react. Within seconds, three tanks are destroyedand their young crews, aged 19 and 20, are killed as the anti-tank teams quietly slip back into the wilderness. Almost 300 miles to the south, in the lake-potted forests near Kouvola, another group of Leopard 2s is immobilised by drones and artillery strikes on the border, having bunched up too closely together on a track through pine trees. Both attacks were simulated by Nato forces as part of a major military exercise called Northern Star involving 5,000 troops from seven nations, including Britain, in Finland’s heavily wooded eastern Kainuu region. But the drills reveal what could be Nato’s reality in a future war against Russia if the alliance doesn’t move away from traditional arms such as tanks and towards modern warfare. Last week Latvia’s military chief warned that Moscow has gained an edge over Nato in drone warfare and could exploit Europe’s slow rearmament drive and invade the Baltics by 2028. Nato commanders now face a looming crisis: learning how to fight on a 21st-century battlefield dominated by AI-assisted drones that can rapidly spot and target tanks and military vehicles from the skies. The alliance must now keep up with the evolution of land warfare to be able to fight Russia, military chiefs told The Telegraph. If it doesn’t, there are fears we could see the fall of the Baltics to Moscow. That will mean speeding up the procurement of drones and the development of factories to build them at scale, while pumping more money into developing the next generation of military vehicles with integrated autonomous systems. Traditionally, the frontlines were ruled by tanks. Acting as armoured juggernauts, they were able to punch through enemy defences with firepower. And while military planners still believe tanks have a place in war, some have questioned whether they are able to hold ground as they did in the past. Full story: telegraph.co.uk/gift/2a31256…

Going below the line to discuss with our readers in the comments shortly.

The German chancellor said he would dissuade his children from moving to the US given the 'social climate developing there'. Friedrich Merz added: 'I am a big admirer of the US. But my admiration is currently not growing.' ft.trib.al/fZrGGs9

Reporting from Heckler & Koch's gun factory on Germany's massive rearmament drive: telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…

My piece on the 'jawbone' war telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…

Der syrische Präsident bestreitet bei einer Veranstaltung in London die eindeutige Aussage, wonach 80 Prozent der Syrer innerhalb von drei Jahren zurückkehren sollen. „In Wahrheit ist diese Aussage etwas übertrieben. Nicht ich habe sie gesagt, sondern sie wurde mir zugeschrieben“, sagt Al-Scharaa. „Es war der Herr Kanzler, der diese Worte gesagt hat.“ Die Zahl sei zwar womöglich erreichbar, aber nur unter Bedingungen. Al-Scharaa betonte: "Der Geflüchtete hat das Recht, mit Freiheit und eigenem Willen zurückzukehren." Zuerst berichtet vom @derspiegel