Russia’s secret weapon destabilizes the Baltics – Now the EU intervenes

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius visited Lithuania on Tuesday and met the presidents of the three Baltic countries: Lithuania Gitanas NausėdanLatvian Edgars Rinkevičsin and Estonia Alar Karisin.

The background of the visit is the tightened security situation in the Baltic region, where several worrying cases of drones intruding into the countries’ airspace have occurred in recent weeks.

The drones are Ukrainian and were intended to strike Russia, but they strayed or were diverted from their original route.

According to NATO sources, Ukraine and the British newspaper The Telegraph, Russia uses sophisticated electronic jamming, especially so-called GPS spoofing, to divert drones from their original route.

The presidents of the Baltic states warned at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday that drone-related harassment is part of Russia’s deliberate pressure and destabilization campaign.

Russia uses electronic jamming to direct Ukrainian drones to the Baltic countries. The purpose of the operation is to scare people, test defense readiness and create uncertainty.

The president of Latvia said that if Russia did not attack Ukraine, then there would be no such drone accidents in the Baltics.

The President of Estonia, on the other hand, emphasized that Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russia’s war of aggression in accordance with international law.

The Lithuanian president reminded that the Baltic countries do not allow their territory or airspace to be used for attacks against other countries.

Russia has claimed that the Baltic countries would allow such an action, which would entitle Russia to strike not only Ukraine but also the Baltic countries.

Lithuanian President Nausėda said that such claims are Russia’s “cynical propaganda aimed at diverting attention from the basic issue, which is that Russia started an illegal war against Ukraine.

According to Commission President von der Leyen, Russia’s actions are not isolated incidents.

“This is a deliberate Russian strategy aimed at destabilizing our democratic societies, but just like on the battlefields of Ukraine, Russia is failing,” von der Leyen said.

Unsafe airspace

According to the President of Lithuania, the airspace of the Baltic countries is currently not safe.

On Tuesday in Vilnius, Von der Leyen promised several measures to strengthen the security and drone defense of the Baltic countries.

According to von der Leyen, the EU will direct another 12 billion euros from the SAFE funding program to the Baltic countries to strengthen their defense readiness. In addition, EUR 1.5 billion of cohesion funding will be directed to, among other things, border control, protecting critical infrastructure and improving security.

Von der Leyen reminded that a couple of months ago, a new EUR 28 billion investment instrument was also established for the countries of the EU’s eastern side.

According to the president of the commission, the EU also plans to invest more widely in anti-drone systems, advanced air defense and better surveillance. At the same time, early warning capability and information exchange will be improved by utilizing, for example, the Copernicus and Galileo systems.

Von der Leyen also emphasized the need to identify current shortcomings. Therefore, the EU together with NATO plans to map the drone and early warning systems of the Baltic region and direct additional support to the points where there are the most weaknesses.

The commission also wants to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine, whose combat experience is seen to play an important role in the development of drone defense.

According to Von der Leyen, the goal is to build an even stronger and more unified defense system in Europe that can respond to new hybrid threats and the increasing use of drones.