Ukraine has offered to build a joint aerial defense shield with its allies to protect against threats from Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, after a series of airspace incursions that caused alarm on NATO’s eastern flank.
NATO leaders have said that Russia has been testing the alliance’s readiness and resolve with airspace incursions in Poland and the Baltic states, and Kyiv says its experience in dealing with aerial threats would be valuable.
“Ukraine proposes to Poland and all our partners to build a joint, fully reliable shield against Russian aerial threats,” he said in an address to the Warsaw Security Forum delivered via video link.
“This is possible. Ukraine can counter all kinds of Russian drones and missiles and if we act together in the region we will have enough weapons and production capacity.”
France, Germany and Sweden meanwhile said they will send military personnel and anti-drone systems to Denmark to boost security at this week’s European summits in Copenhagen, after drone incursions that forced Denmark to shut several airports.
Denmark is due to host EU leaders on Wednesday, followed by a summit on Thursday of the wider, 47-member European Political Community. It has already said it has increased security around the events after the drone sightings.
Drones disrupted air traffic at six Danish airports last week, including at Copenhagen, the Nordic region’s busiest, in what Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called a hybrid attack on her nation.
Denmark has stopped short of saying definitively who it believes is responsible, but Frederiksen has suggested it could be Moscow, calling Russia the primary “country that poses a threat to European security.” The Kremlin denies involvement.
On Sunday, Denmark ordered a ban on civilian drone flights, after drones were observed at several military facilities overnight.
The NATO military alliance on Saturday said it was upgrading its mission in the Baltic Sea in response to the situation in Denmark, and a German air defense frigate arrived in Copenhagen on Sunday to assist with airspace surveillance.
Ukraine has already said that its troops and engineers will train their Polish counterparts on countering drones.
The topic of defense cooperation with Kyiv was high on the agenda as leaders gathered in Warsaw for the annual security forum.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the conference that “Europe’s and Ukraine‘s defense industry must work together more closely and effectively.”
“The European Union must back this by providing a much more flexible regulatory framework for the defense industry in Europe.”
Following the Russian incursions into NATO airspace, countries on the alliance’s eastern flank have agreed on the need for a “drone wall” with advanced detection, tracking and interception capabilities.
However, Pistorius warned that establishing this would not be a quick process.
“We’re not talking about a concept that will be realized within the next three or four years,” he said. “We need to prioritize, and recognize that we require more capabilities and capacities than previously described.”
