Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed on Monday that European nations should band together to form a joint aerial shield that would counter Russian drones and missiles should they be aimed at Ukraine’s allies.
The suggestion comes one week after unidentified drones were sighted in Danish and Norwegian airspace, causing multiple Scandinavian airports to shut down flights for safety reasons. Ukraine has accused Russia of launching the drones, but the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
However, Russia has been responsible for invading Polish, Estonian, and Romanian airspace in recent weeks amid the war with Ukraine.
NATO member states believe Russia is testing the military alliance with its airspace incursions, as Ukraine touts its own experience in thwarting Russian aerial threats.
“Ukraine proposes to Poland and all our partners to build a joint, fully reliable shield against Russian aerial threats,” Zelensky said at the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday.
“This is possible. Ukraine can counter all kinds of Russian drones and missiles, and if we act together in the region, we will have enough weapons and production capacity.”
Denmark and Norway’s mysterious drone incursions set Europe on edge, prompting certain nations to fortify security ahead of a major European summit this week.
France, Germany, and Sweden said they will deploy military personnel and anti-drone systems to Copenhagen, where drones forced the Danish capital’s airport to cease operations for a few hours. Denmark will host European Union members on Wednesday and the larger European Political Community on Thursday.
Denmark has already closed its airspace to all civilian drone flights while the summit takes place. The temporary ban is intended to prevent civilian drones from being confused with hostile drones and vice versa, Denmark’s transport minister Thomas Danielson said.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called the recent drone incidents part of a “hybrid attack” on her nation without claiming who was responsible. Frederiksen said authorities are still investigating the cases for evidence, but European officials are not ruling out Russia.
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Germany, in particular, is adamant about standing up to Russia and its recent airspace incursions.
“We are standing together, keeping a cool head and not allowing ourselves to be driven into an escalation,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said at the Warsaw Security Forum. “At the same time, we are leaving no doubt that we are determined and ready to fend off any threat together.”
