The commission president met with her Baltic counterparts in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss the recent spate of air incursions by Ukrainian drones into Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian airspace.

The drones are sent by Ukraine to attack Russian oil infrastructure on the Baltic Sea coast, but more than a dozen have flown off course and crashed – or been shot down – in the Baltic states and Finland.

Ukraine has said the drones are deliberately being directed into the European Union's airspace by Russia. Baltic officials have strongly denied Moscow's claims – which they call an "disinformation operation" – that they are allowing Kyiv to launch attacks on Russia from their territories.

In Vilnius, von der Leyen said member states facing threats should be able to rely on the European Union when they are facing "hybrid and cyberattacks, foreign interference, and disinformation."

"This is why I believe that Europe should develop a protocol for such hybrid situations. It would enable rapid mobilization of all available EU instruments," she said, while giving no additional details.

"Deterrence is the best strategy to preserve peace. So let us stay vigilant. And let us stay united," she added.

Member states on Europe and NATO's eastern flank say they have been experiencing hybrid attacks from Russia and Belarus for years.

Poland, Latvia and Lithuania say an illegal migration route through Belarus into the EU via their countries is a "hybrid attack" which aims to break EU unity. Smuggler balloons flown from Belarus into the same countries, which have repeatedly closed Lithuanian airspace, have also been described in the same way.

Bridging preparedness gaps

The commission president also said that the EU needs to close its "preparedness gaps" as the recent drone incursions have "exposed vulnerabilities."

"So we will bridge the gaps systematically. Starting with more unified alert systems and improved cross-border coordination," she said.

von der Leyen added that "national systems" should be better connected with EU satellites to allow "better information-sharing across borders and early warning capacity."

Additionally, she suggested that, in coordination with NATO, an assessment of existing counter-drone and early-warning systems in the region could take place to identify and close the gaps.

Reality on Europe's eastern border

The commission president also stressed that what is happening in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania could happen elsewhere "tomorrow."

"People in the Baltic countries have been experiencing what many believed belonged to another era – air raid alerts, families sheltering, schools closing, transport interrupted. This is the reality on Europe's eastern border in 2026. Today it is here. Tomorrow it will be elsewhere along the eastern border," von der Leyen said.

"These are not isolated incidents. This is a deliberate strategy from Russia trying to destabilize our democratic societies," she added, praising the "resilience of the Baltic people."

"Europe stands in full solidarity and unity with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Because when Baltic states are being tested, Europe as a whole is being tested."

I want to praise the resilience of the Baltic people.

You have responded with calm and responsibility.

And with a clear message to Russia:

You will fail.https://t.co/SD4WAvZWKd

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 26, 2026

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