European Defense Commissioner: We are not ready for the threat of Russian drone attacks

The countries of the European Union are unprepared for the new challenges associated with the use of drones by Russia. This underlines the urgent need to create an appropriate defense ecosystem. European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius stated this during a panel discussion at the Ukrainian House in Davos, organized by the "Viktor Pinchuk" Foundation, writes Evropeyskaya Pravda, quoted by Focus.

Kubilus stated that for him it is a ''cold shower'' how Russia has again "dealt well with provocations", referring to the drones that have flown over Poland and Lithuania.

"It turned out that after the mass use of drones became a reality on the front in Ukraine from 2023, on both sides, after two years of such experience, our countries were completely unprepared for such provocations", he noted.

The European Commissioner believes that the EU does not have the capabilities to detect drones, nor does it have effective and cheap means to destroy them.

"Poland, for example, reacted, let's say, in a rather "traditional" way – "They raised fighter jets and shot down drones with missiles worth about a million euros," he notes.

Kubilus emphasizes that transformation takes time, and Europe is “too slow and late“.

“The real changes in the European Union have probably only started in the last year. We are releasing funds, we are really putting pressure on the transformation, but this is still not enough“, he believes.

That is why the European Commissioner for Defense is confident that Europe must adopt “understanding the ecosystem“ of Ukraine.

According to him, about 4 million drones are needed annually for the 1,200 kilometers of front line in Ukraine. According to his calculations, Lithuania, with approximately 900 kilometers of “sensitive“ border with Belarus and Russia, needs the ability to use about 3 million drones.