Lithuania's Foreign Affairs Minister Kęstutis Budrys warns
that defending Europe's eastern flank is an existential question, amid
heightened security concerns.
Several nations have condemned the intentional attempts to agitate and destabilize the region by using drones and flying things like air balloons to disrupt European airspace.
Lithuania had to close Vilnius Airport over the weekend after intercepting huge air balloons that were trying to enter its airspace. Drone incursions into the territories of Poland, Denmark, Romania, and Estonia have also been documented.
"We should treat them as a hybrid threat at the minimum,"
Budrys told Euronews.
"We are dealing with organised crime coming from Belarus. If we cannot deter by denial, then we should deter by punishment."
In order to prevent hybrid threats from the air, Lithuania is urging the European Union to strengthen defense capabilities on the eastern border and apply more extensive sanctions on Belarus in the banking and aviation industries. The EU has already imposed severe sanctions on Minsk for aiding Russia in its aggressive campaign against Ukraine.
"This is a hybrid attack against a member state, and we want the sanctions regime to be strengthened,"
Budrys said.
Since then, sanctions have increased dramatically, and the 19th package that the EU approved earlier this month includes a new set of limitations. Experts contend that evasion from Belarus into Russia is still occurring, nevertheless.
Despite their tight relationship, Lithuania has stated that it is too soon to say whether Moscow is helping Belarus launch the air balloons. Belarus's border with Lithuania has been closed indefinitely.
"To claim this was done in full coordination, we would need more data,"
Budrys told Euronews.
"We won't speculate about it until we have the full details."
Member nations that border Belarus or Russia, or are seen to be the most vulnerable, have called for the deployment of more anti-drone capabilities in response to a series of interruptions.
To increase these capabilities, the Commission proposed a concept that was initially called the "drone wall" but was later renamed the European Drone Initiative. Member states from southern Europe had differing opinions about the plan; some thought it was inoperable and too centered on the eastern flank, with little regard for the Mediterranean.
"What is more important than security for Europe now? Everything else is unimportant if we cannot provide security for our citizens,"
he said.
"This is existential."
What specific measures is NATO taking under Operation Eastern Sentry?
NATO has stationed fresh air defense means including fighter
spurts, two Danish F-16s, three French Rafale spurts, and four German
Eurofighters to ameliorate airspace monitoring and rapid-fire response
capabilities. Deployment of non-military means is similar to a Danishanti-air
warfare frigate to secure crucial maritime approaches.
Operation Eastern Sentry emphasizes a dynamic defense posture across the entire eastern hand, from the Baltic States down to Romania and Bulgaria, conforming deployment of forces to respond to specific arising pitfalls rather than static assignments.
NATO is fleetly contending and experimenting with counter-drone detectors and munitions to describe, track, and neutralize drones, addressing the primary vectors of irruption. Some NATO members, similar to Poland, have authorized endless NATO troop aspects under this operation to maintain readiness and deterrence.