Defense ministers of NATO's eastern member states expressed “deep concern” at a meeting in Bucharest about “repeated intrusions” into NATO airspace by Russian drones and missiles.
According to information from “mirror“demanding the presence of the defense ministers of the hosts Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, PolandSlovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary are part of the “collective response” of the defense alliance.
Tilvar calls for a “strong and coordinated response” from NATO
Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar spoke according to “ReutersAfter meetings with his counterparts, he said a “robust and coordinated response” from NATO to such incidents was needed.
According to “Spiegel”, defense ministers on NATO's eastern flank also called for increased capacities to find, identify and, under certain circumstances, shoot down low and slow flying objects.
Russian drones and missiles cross NATO airspace
Just this month, Romania and Latvia reported that Russian drones and missiles crossed their airspace in nighttime attacks on Ukraine, Spiegel reported.
Additionally, according to Reuters, Romania is close to Ukraine's Danube ports, which are frequent targets of Russian attacks.
Ukrainian Defense Minister appeals to neighboring countries
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha recently stressed that Russian airstrikes constitute a “global threat” and, according to the report, called on its neighbors to consider the possibility of shooting down Russian missiles and drones on their territory.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski said, according to Reuters, that destroying drones invading alliance airspace should be discussed at a NATO defense ministers' meeting in October.