EU Plans Drone Wall After Eastern Incursions

EU defence officials and representatives from about ten countries along the eastern flank — including Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia — plus Ukraine and NATO technical staff are holding talks, chaired by EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, to build a continent‑wide “drone wall” of detection and neutralization systems. The push follows a wave of mysterious airspace incursions that forced airport closures in Denmark and led NATO jets to shoot down drones over Poland, exposing gaps in eastern NATO defences. Kyiv has been invited to share its extensive drone and counter‑drone expertise and industrial capacity to help design affordable, scalable protections. Brussels is exploring funding options, pointing to Commission schemes including the €150 billion Security Action for Europe loans plan and prior references to roughly €6 billion for a drone alliance with Ukraine. Russia denies deliberate involvement in many incidents but has warned that strikes on its aircraft would risk direct conflict with NATO.