Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has called for the urgent completion of air defence upgrades, citing hybrid and drone attacks as integral elements of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Nausėda made the remarks on Thursday at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in Helsinki, days after a drone came down near Lake Lavysas in Lithuania's Varėna district – one of three such incidents across the Baltic states this week.
"We all understand that Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine poses many dangers to surrounding states from various angles. Hybrid attacks, drone strikes, and conventional attacks are, unfortunately, part of this war. What we must do is complete air defence work as urgently and efficiently as possible," he said.
He called for a fundamental shift in approach. "We must transition from the somewhat pacifist air policing model, which was acceptable in peacetime, to air defence under current circumstances. This must include both effective detection and the capability to destroy targets.
Today, we are not yet implementing these plans on the scale we would like, but together with our partners, we will be able to do so," he said, adding that the issue was high on the JEF agenda.
Nausėda said he expected regional air defence to feature prominently at the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.
The drones, which entered the airspace airspace of all three Baltic states on Wednesday night, were all said to be Ukrainian and intended for targets in Russia, but believed to have veered off course.
Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said radars capable of detecting drones are due to arrive in Lithuania between 2026 and 2028, with some already delivered and installation under way. A fully integrated drone detection system is expected to be in place by 2030.
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