Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda called for improved air defences on NATO’s eastern flank at a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Vilnius on Thursday.
The meeting followed a series of aerial drone incidents in the Baltic Region that involved Ukrainian drones as well.
“We must – and very quickly – improve both our detection capacities and our interception capacities, so that incidents of this kind are prevented and our population is not endangered,” Nausėda said.
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Stubb agreed. “We have to be more watchful and modernize our air defences.” This would require closer cooperation with Ukraine, whose experience should be utilized, the Finnish leader added, according to reports on Lithuanian media.
NATO allies were working towards this, he said.
Ukraine is regarded as a leading exponent of anti-drone warfare. Ukrainian drones have also strayed into the airspace of the Baltic republics and Finland and after attacking targets in north-western Russia.
FILE PHOTO: Cai-Goran Alexander Stubb, President of Finland, speaks at a press conference with President Steinmeier after their meeting at the Presidential Palace. (zu dpa: «Lithuania and Finland back improved air defence after drone incidents») Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa