EU invites Ukraine to discuss 'drone wall' along eastern frontier
EU countries plan to create a 'drone wall' on the eastern border (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Next week, meetings of the defense ministers of European Union countries are planned to discuss the creation of a drone wall along the community’s eastern border, reports Reuters.
The meeting was announced by European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius. He told the agency that some EU countries had already discussed the idea of a defensive line against drones last week, and now the EU executive body aims to quickly turn this concept into reality.
Analysts and officials stated that the invasion revealed gaps in Europe’s and NATO’s ability to defend against drones, although the air forces of Poland and NATO allies shot down several of them.
“We want really to move ahead with very, very intensive and effective preparations to start to fill this gap, which is really very dangerous for us... as quickly as we can do it,” Kubilius said in a phone interview.
He added that he will hold a videoconference with defense ministers of Eastern European countries and a representative from Ukraine, who can share lessons from the war unleashed by Russia following its 2022 invasion.
“I just came back from Kyiv two days ago and we were talking both with the government and also with industry. They're keen to share their experience and know-how,” said Kubilius, the former Prime Minister of Lithuania, who was appointed last year as the EU’s first-ever Defense Commissioner.
The European Commissioner also noted that discussions are still at an early stage, but he envisions this project as a combination of sensors, various types of weapons, and electronic warfare systems that will detect and neutralize approaching drones.
According to him, it is too early to estimate the cost of such a system or the timeline for its deployment, although some public analyst assessments suggest it could be implemented within a year.
Russian drone attack on Poland
On the night of September 10, Russia attacked Poland with 20 strike drones.
Most of the enemy targets entered from Belarus, but several came from Ukrainian airspace during a massive combined strike.
Russia claimed that its forces were targeting Ukraine during last week’s drone flights and had no intention of hitting any targets in Poland.
However, Warsaw rejected this explanation, stating that the incident was a deliberate attack.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday that Ukrainian military personnel and engineers will train their Polish counterparts in a joint drone countermeasure group.
In addition, Poland and Ukraine are preparing to sign an agreement on cooperation in drone technologies, which includes developing joint initiatives and training military personnel.
