- Category
- Latest news
EU Drone Defense Wall to Be Built With Ukraine, Says Commissioner Kubilius
- Authors
![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
The European Union intends to closely involve Ukraine in the development of a “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern borders, drawing on Kyiv’s extensive battlefield experience against Russian unmanned systems.
According to Ukrinform on September 15, European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said the initiative was discussed during visits with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to EU border states.
“In these border countries we need to create a ‘drone wall’ together with Ukraine and include Ukraine in this project,” Kubilius stated.
Kubilius emphasized that recent Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace underscored the urgency of improving Europe’s defenses. He highlighted Ukraine’s ability to rapidly procure and deploy drones through reformed defense procurement practices.
“In Europe, if a government decides to purchase drones, it may take two years. Under the conditions you are facing, defending against aggression, that would be absolutely unacceptable,” Kubilius noted.
He also stressed that the EU should learn not only how to produce drones but also how to build the wider ecosystem surrounding their deployment. Ukraine’s approach, he said, allows frontline units to directly order and receive drones at speed.
The commissioner pointed to the BraveTech EU platform, launched earlier this summer, which connects European and Ukrainian startups. The platform enables companies to test systems on the frontlines, develop new projects jointly, and study the defense innovation ecosystem created in Ukraine.
The announcement follows repeated Russian drone intrusions into Poland’s airspace, most recently on September 10, when Polish forces intercepted several UAVs. Warsaw reported that a total of 21 Russian drones violated its airspace.
US President Donald Trump commented that the incident “could have been a mistake,” while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski rejected that assessment, insisting the attack was deliberate.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed to expand cooperation against Russian drones, with Ukraine offering training and expertise while both countries push for a joint European air defense system.
