Ukraine is ready to share drone technology with the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today during his participation in the NB8 summit, which took place today in Estonia, which includes the five Scandinavian and eight Baltic countries, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
The forum took place at a time of tension caused by the recent increase in cases of Ukrainian drones entering the airspace of countries in the region.
Zelensky and Estonian President Alar Karis agreed to seek more cost-effective ways to protect Estonia's airspace. Several drones have violated Estonian airspace in recent weeks. In mid-May, a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone over southern Estonia.
"We have shown that we can shoot down drones with fighter jets," Karis told reporters today. However, he added that using fighter jets for this purpose is too expensive and that he hopes Estonia will cooperate with Ukraine to benefit from its technology and experience in implementing more cost-effective methods of combating drones.
Zelensky, for his part, indicated that Ukraine is ready to cooperate. According to the Ukrainian leader, Kiev has successfully helped some countries in the Middle East defend themselves against drone strikes. Ukraine can offer cheaper interceptor drones, which it has used to build a relatively low-cost shield against Russian drone attacks. Zelensky added that Kiev could send experts to Europe "at any moment."
Karis noted that he expects more drones to enter the airspace of the Baltic states as the war in Ukraine continues, and urged citizens to remain calm.
Zelensky said that his talks today with the leaders of the NB8 were focused on the progress of diplomacy, strengthening Ukraine's air defense, as well as its path to EU membership. According to the Ukrainian president, his country has met all the necessary conditions to start accession negotiations with the EU and called on the bloc to give the green light to the start of consultations this summer.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine and Latvia have signed an agreement on and joint production of drones.
The Ukrainian leader added that he had insisted on tougher sanctions against Russia, including against its "shadow fleet".
On the sidelines of the NB8 summit, Zelensky discussed the strengthening of Ukraine's air defense with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
"All our partners are already paying attention to the fact that Ukraine's positions on the front are significantly stronger," Zelensky said. He added that Ukrainian diplomacy should be based on this fact. "Unfortunately, Russia is trying to compensate for its huge losses on the battlefield with strikes on our cities and villages, as well as on civilian infrastructure," the Ukrainian president added.