Counter-drone defence on the EU's eastern border: Commissioner Kubilius pushes ahead with “drone wall”

Russian drones have entered the airspace of EU states in large numbers – Poland and the Baltic states and, most recently, Romania. This has prompted Andrius Kubilius to act. The Lithuanian, who is responsible for defence and space in the European Commission, is now pressing for a “drone wall” as an element of counter-drone defence.

Kubilius told Reuters that a line of defence against drones had been discussed even before the incident in Poland. At least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace during the night of 9 to 10 September.

Talks on counter-drone defence along the eastern border

Kubilius intends to convene the EU defence ministers for talks as early as next week. The topic is the construction of a “drone wall” on the Union's eastern border, a project that he says has become more urgent.

Reuters quotes Kubilius as follows: “We really want to move forward with very, very intensive and effective preparations to close this gap, which is really very dangerous for us, as quickly as possible”.

Video conferences are planned with defence ministers from Eastern Europe and a representative of Ukraine. Lessons from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine are to be shared.

Andrius Kubilius visited Kyiv only at the beginning of the week. Ukrainian news platform Ukrinform quotes him as saying: “The incident with Russian drones over Poland has shown that we must expand our capabilities to defend against possible drone attacks very, very quickly. This is necessary, and that is why we will work with Ukraine on developing this important project.”

Costs still open, set-up within a year conceivable

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already discussed the initiative, currently called the “drone wall”, with the border states for which the project is primarily intended.

According to what Kubilius told Reuters, the costs of such a system cannot yet be estimated. Based on Ukraine's experience and analysts' estimates, however, it could be set up within a year.

Separately, Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Thursday that Ukrainian troops and engineers would train Polish counterparts in a joint counter-drone group. Ukraine now successfully repels numerous Russian reconnaissance and attack drones every day, relying on comparatively inexpensive interceptor drones.