Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Saturday, Russia criticised the European Union’s proposal to strengthen its defences against drones, arguing that such measures would only escalate tensions in response to unidentified unmanned aircraft crossing its borders.
The construction of a drone wall follows a series of incidents where unauthorised drones have challenged Europe’s borders and airports. Russia has been held blamed for certain incidents.
As reported, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the measures would lead to “an increase in military and political tensions on our continent,” according to state news agency RIA Novosti. The ministry also said that the agendas were mounted to “personal ambitions and political games of the EU’s ruling elites.”
How did russian drones violate European airspace recently?
A few days ago, NATO jets scrambled on Sept. 10 to shoot down a number of Russian drones that violated Polish airspace. Moreover, Drone sightings were witnessed in multiple countries, including Denmark, Romania, Norway, Sweden, and France, disrupting their airports, which were temporarily closed this week after drones were flown nearby.
What concerns do the European Union aim to address?
In response, European Defence ministers from approximately 10 EU countries agreed on Friday to prioritise the’ drone wall’ for the bloc, following recent airspace violations by Russia that unsettled some member states. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called for the “drone wall” during a keynote speech earlier this month, just hours after NATO shot down Russian drones in Poland.
EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius stated that “Russia is testing the EU and NATO, and our response must be firm, united and immediate,” following a virtual meeting of 10 countries on Europe’s eastern flank, which also included Ukrainian and NATO representatives.
The EU also mentioned that it should learn from Ukraine, which faces Russian drone swarms every day and has created more affordable methods to intercept them.
How does Russia respond to airspace violation claims?
Moscow has formally rejected allegations of trespassing into NATO airspace and denounced the European Union’s response as “hysteria.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian military pilots follow international air navigation rules and denounced the claims as “baseless.” Russia also rejected claims that Russian drones had recently carried out flights into European airspace, saying there was no evidence linking any drones to Russia.
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