Danish PM requires sturdy reply from EU leaders to Russia's hybrid assaults

[ad_1] Jessica Parker Europe correspondent in Copenhagen and

Paul Kirby Europe digital editor in London

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2b62/live/ba18b790-9e36-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Reuters Police officers stand in front of Christiansborg Palace ahead of the informal meeting of European Union leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, September 30, 2025." class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Reuters Denmark has bolstered safety for the summit and allies have beefed up air defences

EU leaders have met in Copenhagen below stress to spice up European defence after a sequence of Russian incursions into EU airspace, and days after drones focused Danish airports.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen informed reporters that "from a European perspective there is just one nation... prepared to threaten us and that's Russia, and due to this fact we'd like a really sturdy reply again".

The incursions have develop into most acute for nations on the EU's japanese flank corresponding to Poland and Estonia.

Quite a few member states have already backed plans for a multi-layered "drone wall" to rapidly detect, then monitor and destroy Russian drones.

"We meet at a time when Russia have intensified their assaults in Ukraine, the place now we have seen Russian airspace violations and undesirable drone exercise in a number of European nations," Frederiksen informed a information convention after the talks had concluded.

"They're threatening us and they're testing us and they won't cease."

She stated the subsequent steps would come with stepping up navy and monetary assist for Ukraine, rearming European nations, and strengthening the manufacturing of drones and anti-drone expertise.

"We should present the strongest of deterrents, at scale and at pace," European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen stated.

Denmark beefed up safety for the summit, banning all civilian drone flights until Friday and putting heavy restrictions on site visitors in Copenhagen.

Denmark can be internet hosting a broader European Political Group summit on Thursday and worldwide allies have lent assist to make sure each occasions go with out incident.

Copenhagen airport, adopted by a number of Danish airports and navy websites on the Jutland peninsula, confronted drone disruption final week.

Ten allies are offering anti-drone and surveillance assist, in accordance with Denmark's navy, which has highlighted an "increased presence of foreign troops and equipment" .

Among the many nations contributing are Poland, the UK, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and the US. A German frigate has additionally docked in Copenhagen.

As host to dozens of European leaders over two days, Denmark will wish to fend off any extra unwelcome surprises in its airspace.

Danish police have not found any evidence that Russia was behind final week's drone disruption, however Frederiksen linked it explicitly to different hybrid assaults corresponding to Russia's drone incursion over Poland.

It was a part of a sample that needed to be seen from a European perspective, she informed reporters on Wednesday.

"The conflict in Ukraine may be very severe. After I take a look at Europe immediately, I feel we're in probably the most troublesome and harmful state of affairs for the reason that finish of the Second World Warfare - not the Chilly Warfare anymore."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/643f/live/1cca3850-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA/Shutterstock The German Navy air defense frigate FGS Hamburg F220 is docked in Copenhagen, Denmark, 28 September 2025" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> EPA/Shutterstock A German frigate has additionally arrived within the Danish capital to bolster air defences

Sweden has loaned "highly effective radar techniques" to its neighbour for the week and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky stated Kyiv was sending a mission to Denmark for joint workouts to supply "Ukrainian expertise in drone defence".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated forward of the summit that airspace incursions had been getting worse and that it was "cheap to imagine the drones are coming from Russia".

Drones have been seen in recent days over Germany's northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, and flights have been delayed previously week at Vilnius airport in Lithuania and at Oslo airport in Norway due to drone exercise.

"We're not at conflict, however we're now not at peace both. We should do rather more for our personal safety," Merz informed an occasion in Düsseldorf this week.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e52a/live/82aad8f0-9e37-11f0-b741-177e3e2c2fc7.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA/Shutterstock Von der Leyen wears a red jacket and white blouse with the blue and yellow flag of the EU in the background" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> EPA/Shutterstock European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen raised the thought of a "drone wall" final month

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated it was apparent Germany had lengthy been "not directly concerned" within the conflict in Ukraine and rejected "unfounded accusations" of Russian involvement in final week's disruption in Denmark.

"Europe could be higher off in search of dialogue on safety points reasonably than seeking to construct a divisive 'drone wall'," he stated on Tuesday.

Such is the priority at Russian exercise on Europe's japanese flank that Nato met for consultations twice in September below Article 4 of its treaty, first after drones violated Polish airspace after which when Russian MiG-31 war planes entered Estonian airspace for 12 minutes.

"We have now to maintain our skies protected," stated Nato Secretary Common Mark Rutte, who met Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on the eve of the Copenhagen summit.

The thought of a drone wall was raised a month in the past by von der Leyen, and Rutte stated it was "well timed and essential as a result of, ultimately, we can not spend tens of millions of euros or {dollars} on missiles to take out drones that are solely costing a few thousand {dollars}".

A senior EU diplomat informed the BBC that there have been nonetheless questions over financing the plan and about command and management, however Europe's response to Russia's drone violations in Poland had led to some severe soul-searching: "We have now to be extra agile and discover higher instruments."

A former brigadier basic within the Danish navy, Ole Kvaerno, informed the BBC that the drone wall was "a political, very generic idea for the time being", however that final week's drone exercise over his nation had been a wake-up name for the authorities and the broader Danish inhabitants.

He warned that the goal of the subsequent assault is perhaps totally different.

"It could possibly be infrastructure like vitality provide," stated Kvaerno of the Danish Centre for Defence Robotics and Autonomy. "The character of hybrid conflict is that it is meant to take us abruptly. So we're not finished with operational shocks like this one."

One other flagship challenge, known as Jap Flank Watch, is aimed toward fortifying the EU's japanese borders by sea, air and land to guard towards so-called hybrid warfare , in addition to from Russia's shadow fleet. Von der Leyen stated the EU must collaborate on this with each Nato and Ukraine.

EU leaders will probably be proven plans for a "highway map" aimed toward bolstering defences and creating Europe's defence industries by the top of the last decade to supply state-of-the-art navy gear. The plans will then be labored on with Nato earlier than EU leaders meet once more later this month.

In accordance with the plans for being "2030-ready", Europe wants to maneuver now so its capabilities are ready for "the battlefields of tomorrow".

One of many core concepts is to more and more deal with joint procurement. The EU has already backed proposals to lift as much as €150bn (£130bn) on capital markets to assist fund defence funding. The UK and Canada are possible to participate within the fund.

The EU's monetary assist for Ukraine may even be mentioned, greater than three and a half years into Russia's full-scale conflict.

Ukraine can be a candidate to affix the EU, however is going through hardening opposition from Hungary and tensions alongside their shared border, after Kyiv accused Budapest of sending reconnaissance drones into western Ukraine.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who's one in every of Russia's closest allies within the EU, claimed Ukraine was "not a sovereign nation" because it was being financed by the West.