On 8 October 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed MEPs in Strasbourg warning that Russia is waging a calculated and targeted ‘grey zone campaign’ against Europe requiring a rethink of defense policy. She cited recent incursions into European airspace over multiple countries including Poland, Romania, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium, and Germany, partly attributed to Russia, highlighting vulnerabilities in drone defense. Von der Leyen also pointed to sabotage of critical infrastructure, cyberattacks, electoral interference, and disinformation as part of Russia’s broader hybrid warfare campaign aimed at unsettling EU citizens, dividing the Union, and weakening support for Ukraine. She urged EU governments to abandon their comfort zones and adopt unified countermeasures including building a ‘drone wall’ to detect and shoot down incoming drones on a 360-degree basis, covering all EU borders and addressing various threats from natural disasters to organized crime and Russian shadow fleets. The drone wall project has drawn political debate on scope and feasibility among EU leaders. Von der Leyen emphasized that increasing defense spending must support European industry. She concluded with a stark choice: either allow Russian threats to escalate or confront them with unity, deterrence, and resolve.
Category: Military & Paramilitary Operations
Subcategory: Conventional Military Pressure
Incident Type: Airspace violations
Country: European Union
Source report: www.euronews.com/my-europe…
