Overview

• EU defence ministers agreed to begin implementing an integrated detection, tracking and interception system along the eastern flank, with Commissioner Andrius Kubilius seeking leaders’ backing in October and saying the wall could be built within a year.
• The plan advanced after large drones shut airports in Denmark and after reported incursions into Poland, with participants including frontline EU states, NATO representatives, and Ukraine, which briefed ministers on counter-drone lessons.
• Germany is preparing legal changes to permit Bundeswehr shoot-downs of unmanned aircraft in narrowly defined emergencies, a move confirmed by the Interior Ministry as talks on updating the Luftsicherheitsgesetz continue.
• Reported provisions would allow action when drones pose an acute threat to lives or critical infrastructure and include expanded electronic countermeasures, with crisis decisions shifting to the Defence Ministry under the draft framework.
• Regional authorities in Schleswig-Holstein boosted drone defences after overnight sightings, while Ukraine continued strikes on Russian oil infrastructure and accused Hungary of reconnaissance drone violations near the border, prompting diplomatic friction.