EU Plans 'Drone Wall' on Its Eastern Border with Russia

The European Union is taking steps to strengthen the security of its eastern borders in response to the growing number of airspace violations by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles. To this end, a high-level online meeting was held, dedicated to the ambitious initiative of creating a "drone wall."

The consultation, led by European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius, brought together the defense ministers of the EU's "frontline" countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. Despite initial conflicting information, Hungary and Slovakia also joined the meeting.

A special session was held with the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, who presented Kyiv's experience in defending against Russian drones. The EU will try to use Ukraine's practical knowledge to strengthen its own defense capabilities.

As a result of the meeting, the leaders of the EU's eastern flank countries agreed on the "Eastern Flank Watch" initiative, the core of which will be the "drone wall." The architecture of this defense initiative includes four main directions:

The EU plans to create a special instrument to ensure the financing of the "drone wall." It is expected that this initiative will be discussed in detail at the European Council meeting in October.