Russia ramps up production of attack drones, posing threat to Ukraine and NATO
Photo: Russian-made drones (Telegram channel of Andrii Tsaplienko)
Russia is not slowing the pace of attack drone production and plans to increase it further.
This was reported by Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Kovalenko believes this poses a threat not only to Ukraine but also to NATO’s European flank.
"As it is the Russian drone, not the Russian infantryman, that is the first to cross the Alliance’s border," he stressed.
Violations of NATO airspace
Throughout 2025, Russia repeatedly violated the airspace of NATO member states. Such incidents involved both combat aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
On September 19, Estonia’s Foreign Ministry reported the illegal entry of Russian MiG-31K fighter jets, carriers of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, into the country’s airspace. According to Politico, three aircraft were involved and remained over Estonian territory for about 12 minutes.
Another incident occurred on September 8, when a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter violated Estonian airspace near Vaindloo Island, according to the country’s defense forces.
In addition, during the night of September 10, Russia launched another large-scale combined attack against Ukraine. During that strike, Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting Warsaw to scramble fighter jets. Poland for the first time used air defense systems to destroy drones directly over its territory.
On September 13, a Russian drone was also detected in Romania’s airspace. Videos later circulated online confirming air raid alerts in both Poland and Romania.
