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“Drone Wall” Rising: EU Turns to Ukraine’s War Lessons After Russian Strike on Poland
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
The European Union is preparing to take a major step toward strengthening its defenses against Russian drone threats. Next week, EU defense ministers are set to hold talks on building a so-called “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern border, European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius announced, according to Reuters on September 18.
Kubilius said he will convene a video conference with defense ministers from Eastern Europe and a representative from Ukraine, who can share hard-won lessons from more than two years of large-scale war with Russia.
“I just came back from Kyiv two days ago, and we were talking both with the government and also with industry. They’re keen to share their experience and know-how,” Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister and the EU’s first-ever defense commissioner, told Reuters.
The “drone wall” project remains in its early stages, but Kubilius described it as a layered defense combining sensors, electronic warfare, and kinetic weapons to detect and neutralize incoming UAVs.
The urgency for such a system has only grown after a wave of Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace last week, forcing Warsaw to scramble fighter jets. NATO later confirmed several drones were shot down.
“We want really to move ahead with very, very intensive and effective preparations to start to fill this gap, which is really very dangerous for us… as quickly as we can do it,” Kubilius stated.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also recently threw her support behind the initiative, calling for a comprehensive shield just hours after the Polish Air Force had to intercept Russian drones.
Ukraine is also stepping in directly: Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that Ukrainian troops and engineers will work with their Polish counterparts in a joint training group focused on counter-drone warfare.
While Moscow insisted its drone strikes were only targeting Ukraine and that Poland was hit “by accident,” Warsaw dismissed that explanation as a deliberate act of aggression.
Analysts caution that many questions remain about the cost and timeline of the EU system. But some estimates suggest that, if fully resourced, a functioning “drone wall” could be in place within a year.
Earlier, reports emerged that Russian drones that entered Polish airspace on September 10 were equipped with Iranian-made anti-jamming GNSS antennas.
