Eastern Flank drones wall - european leaders' priority

The operationalization of the Eastern Flank Drone Wall of NATO and the EU is the main topic on the agenda of the informal meeting of the European Council to be held today in Copenhagen, Denmark, said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, yesterday, during press statements given by her and Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, ahead of the European Security College meeting.

Ursula von der Leyen stated: Regarding European defense, I see three relevant topics. First, capabilities. We have a single set of forces, assigned to different missions - NATO, EU, UN or the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine. Therefore, in close cooperation with NATO, we need interoperable capabilities. To achieve this, we need more joint procurement. Second, we need flagship projects in the field of defense. For example, for the flagship project of the Eastern Flank Observatory, we need to act now. Europe must provide a strong and united response to Russia's drone incursions on our borders. That is why we will propose immediate measures to create a "drone wall” as part of the Eastern Flank Observatory. We need to move quickly - together with Ukraine and in close coordination with NATO. And the third aspect: we need a ready defense industry. A strong, resilient and innovative European defense industry is the key to our readiness. The industry must rapidly mass-produce state-of-the-art military equipment and deliver it in a short time. This is, in short, a preview of some key elements of the guidance document. In two weeks, we will present the full version of the "Readiness Roadmap 2030”.

In addition, Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, noted: "Regarding the "drone wall” initiative, I think it was an excellent idea. We had a first meeting on this major topic last Friday, with representatives of the states on NATO's eastern flank. Why is this important? Because, first of all, we need to keep our skies safe. We have seen in recent weeks what happened with the drones in Poland, with the MIG-31 in Estonia, but also what is happening now in Denmark. In Denmark, we are still assessing what is behind these events. But in the case of Poland and Estonia, it is clear that it is the Russians. However, we are still analyzing whether it is intentional or not. But even if it is not intentional, it is irresponsible and unacceptable. So, we need to protect our skies. The drone wall initiative is timely and necessary, because, ultimately, we cannot spend millions of euros or dollars on missiles to shoot down drones that cost only a few thousand dollars. We need the drone wall.”

The head of the European Commission also pointed out that in the war launched by Russia in Ukraine, although more than 250,000 Russian soldiers died in the first nine months of 2025, the territory captured this year is only 1% of the territory of Ukraine.

Von der Leyen also pointed out: "Russia is increasingly under economic pressure. Interest rates are at 17%, and inflation is well over 10%. I firmly believe that we are at a moment when decisive action on our part can lead to a turning point in this conflict. In recent months, we have already taken unprecedented steps. The Defense White Paper has outlined the strategic direction and priorities. And we have proposed new ways of financing defense. Our ad hoc SAFE instrument is operational in record time. As for Ukraine, we are advancing in several directions of work. First of all, we are intensifying economic pressure on Russia. Our sanctions are working. Russia's GDP is expected to slow down from 4.3% in 2024 to 0.9% in 2025. We need to increase the pressure. To this end, we have proposed a new sanctions package with strong measures on energy, financial services and trade. A key element of this is the ban on LNG imports from Russia. Secondly, we need to provide military assistance to Ukraine. If we continue to believe that Ukraine is our first line of defense, we need to step up our military support for Ukraine. Specifically, we have agreed with Ukraine that a total of euro2 billion will be spent on drones. This will allow Ukraine to increase its drone production capacity and allow the EU to benefit from this technology.”

The head of the European Commission also said that she had put forward the idea of a reparations loan based on frozen Russian sovereign assets. "The loan will not be granted all at once, but in tranches and with conditions attached. And we will strengthen our own defense industry by ensuring that part of the loan is used for procurement in and from Europe. Importantly, there is no seizure of assets. Ukraine must repay the loan, if Russia pays the reparations. The aggressor must be held accountable”, stated Ursula von der Leyen.

Regarding Ukraine, Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, mentioned that the Trump Administration has reopened the gates again through the PURL initiative, with lethal and non-lethal weapons that will be paid for by the allies, and mentioned the SAFE instrument that will create new conditions for both the common European defense and the military support provided to the authorities in Kiev.