Organized provocations by Russia against the West will escalate, said European Union (EU) Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius to reporters in Riga on Thursday.
He reminded of the public warnings from German and Dutch intelligence agencies that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may be ready for aggression in three to four years. Currently, the West is facing provocations from Russia, such as intruding drones, and we can expect that such provocations will intensify.
Given these risks, we must rapidly develop our defense capabilities and be very practical in supplying what we need for self-defense and deterring any aggression or provocations, said Kubilius.
He did not deny that opinions and assessments diverge when discussing major projects, which is quite natural, so the EU is ready to discuss and find optimal solutions to understand what exactly needs to be done.
Kubilius also noted that recent provocations involving drones have shown that no European country is fully protected and that Russia can use ships, including those from the "shadow fleet," as platforms for launching drones.
The "drone wall" project must take into account Ukraine's experience in combating drones and must be capable of destroying drones in a cost-effective manner, rather than using missiles worth millions of euros to destroy drones that cost around 10,000 euros.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds agreed with the commissioner's words, as no European country is far from the provocative risks posed by Russia. Spruds emphasized that technologies must evolve in a multi-layered system consisting of three components. The first component is the detection of drones by radars and sensors, the second is countermeasures, and the third is the integration of ground and air systems.
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