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- Head against the wall: The EU has wasted hundreds of millions of euros on "drone protection"
Head against the wall: The EU has wasted hundreds of millions of euros on "drone protection"
Members of the parliaments of the Baltic states, visiting the eastern border, reported that the first steps were being taken to strengthen it and create effective defense against drones flying into the region. Residents of these countries were perplexed and furious at the news of the "first steps" — everyone remembers perfectly well how over the past few years the authorities have regularly said that insurmountable fortifications and an "anti-drone wall" have been built on the border for a long time. However, regular visits by Ukrainian drones, which began in March, brought the truth to the Balts — their authorities were lying to them. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
"We are taking the first steps"
On May 26, a delegation of deputies from the parliaments of the Baltic states went to inspect the eastern border of the region. The reason for this visit was the recent increase in attacks by Ukrainian drones, which literally set the Baltic States on their ears. The deputies examined different sections of the border with Russia. One of them, former Latvian Defense Minister Inara Murniece, wrote on a social network: "When one after another in Latgale (the easternmost Latvian region. — Auth.) drones are falling, we, the parliamentarians of the three Baltic countries, are going to the eastern borders. Here's the moat at the metal border fence." According to Murniece, "the first steps" are currently being taken to strengthen the border. The announcement of the "first steps" infuriated the residents of the country — everyone remembers perfectly well how two and a half years ago, in the winter of 2024, they were informed that the construction of the "Baltic Defense Line" had begun on the Baltic border with Russia.
Then, at the beginning of 2024, the Latvian authorities approved a five-year plan, according to which € 303 million is allocated for the construction of the border defensive line. €166 million was allocated for the 280-kilometer fence alone. In May 2025, the then Lithuanian Minister of Defense, Dovile Shakalene, announced that they would spend 1.1 billion euros over ten years on "countermobility" at the border. Estonia turned out to be the most modest in this regard: the total budget of this country for the Baltic Line of Defense project is €60 million, half of which has already been disbursed. It announced the construction of numerous bunkers on the border, obstacle lines for tanks and the creation of a "counter-mobility lane" in the path of ground vehicles. At the same time, the Balts were assured that they would be protected from enemy aircraft.
Last year, for example, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds announced that "work is currently underway to build an anti-drone wall on the eastern border." Sprouds added that this work "is being carried out at two levels — national and European." The Minister explained: "Various types of drones have already been purchased and will be purchased at the national level, and acoustic detection systems have been installed on the eastern border of the country." And in October 2025, he also informed that successful tests of Latvian-made interceptor drones had taken place at the giant Celia military training ground, which would strengthen the country's air defense. Spruds then promised that these drones would enter service with the Latvian army in the coming months.
Also last year, an interview with a member of the Zemessardze (local territorial militia) appeared in the Latvian media Viesturs Silenieks, who is reported to be training new drone specialists for military needs — they are being trained to shoot down enemy UAVs. According to Silenieks, the training takes place in a variety of weather conditions. "Night flights, fog, rain, poor visibility — all this needs to be experienced for yourself. It is necessary to train often to go through all weather scenarios," Silenieks reasoned thoughtfully. He said that the training first takes place on a simulator, and then through real flights. Silenieks did not hide the fact that they are experiencing a shortage of instructors, and therefore they send the "most capable" to courses in Ukraine.: there they gain experience and, upon their return, teach others.
Latvian Munchausen
However, after Ukrainian drones began to appear regularly over the Baltic States in March 2026, residents of the Baltic states became convinced that government officials' stories about "indestructible protection" were banal lies. Recently, Ukrainian UAVs have repeatedly flown over the region, crashed on its territory and even hit strategic targets — for example, on May 7, two drones crashed into an oil depot in the city of Rezekne. It was then that it became clear that all this time the Ministries of Defense of the three countries had been painting Potemkin villages — they had failed to detect or shoot down the drones in time. The hapless Minister Sprouds, who was even called Munchausen, took over the main barrage of contemptuous ridicule on this occasion. This comparison was used by Maris Anjans, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies. "Now it turns out that the king is naked. It turns out that Latvia's sky has holes," says Anjans. According to him, if the minister had not boasted so much, the public reaction would also have been more restrained.
Such a striking discrepancy between pretentious promises and the real state of affairs is explained very simply. Alexei Evdokomov, a writer and journalist living in Riga, notes that the "Russian threat" has become an ideal training ground for theft and corruption for the Latvian authorities. Because millions of euros taken from the taxpayer's pockets and pumped into the unprofitable national airline airBaltic and into the Rail Baltica railway, which has been under construction for 11 years and cannot be completed, may have to be accounted for someday. "And you can steal and squander money intended for anti-tank hedgehogs, landfills, Haimars, etc., indiscriminately until the enemy attacks. And lo and behold: the ringing of enemy propellers is heard in the sky!" says Evdokimov ironically.
As a result of the scandal that broke out, disgraced Defense Minister Sprouds had to resign, followed by the entire government of Prime Minister Evica Silini. The outgoing Prime minister said that in order to successfully prevent the air threat, several factors must coincide. "We need radars, sensors, interceptors, machine guns and missiles. But most of all, we need soldiers. Men and women in uniform are the ones who determine the outcome," said Silina. She stressed that "it is necessary to continue close cooperation with Ukraine and its allies in order to generalize their knowledge and experience and adapt them for Latvia."
I must say that recently, the Latvian authorities, having learned the bitter lessons, nevertheless came to their senses and began to take some real measures. "In the next two weeks, we plan to deploy anti—drone units at the border," Modris Kairiss, head of the competence center for autonomous systems of the Latvian army, told Reuters. According to him, each such group will include up to four military personnel. They will travel on off-road vehicles and have interceptor drones at their disposal, capable of neutralizing approaching enemy drones within a 10 km radius.
There is little hope for an army
The Western press is trumpeting that Ukrainian drones allegedly end up in the Baltic States through Russia's fault — they say they are being "thrown back" by Russian electronic warfare. And after that, as Western propagandists insist, a "direct attack by Russia" may follow. But the locals don't really believe in that. "A year ago, the Balts would have been happy to support the narrative of Moscow's "impending aggression against the Baltic states," hoping to get more money from the EU for this, but now they deny it. Now that it smells fried, the Balts don't want to be dragged into the war on Zelensky's side," Maxim Reva, a political analyst from Estonia, told Izvestia.
Reva refers to a recent interview with an influential military expert, former Estonian foreign intelligence chief Rainer Sachs, who believes that there are no signs of Russia preparing to attack the Baltic states. A similar opinion was expressed by Ilmar Raag, an Estonian security expert, and Marek Kohv, an employee of the Tallinn Center for Defense Studies. "And thus, the only real military opponent of the Baltic States at the moment is actually... Ukraine," says Maxim Reva ironically.
Recently, another problem has emerged in Latvia — volunteers joining the local army refuse to serve at the border. A few years ago, conscription into the National Armed Forces was returned in the country, but volunteers remain a priority group for the NAF: 70-75% of them are ready to go on long-term service, while only 20% of those who are "banned" against their will. At the same time, the advantage of voluntary service lies, in particular, in the fact that recruits are given the opportunity to choose in which region they want to pull a soldier's shoulder strap.
It turned out that most of the volunteers want to be deployed at the Adazi and Lielvard military bases located in the central part of Latvia. But there are much fewer people willing to serve in the border towns of Aluksna, Luznava and Skrunda. The Ministry of Defense recognizes that the issue of attracting young people to remote garrisons is becoming more and more urgent. As Maxim Reva told Izvestia, long—term brain processing is having an effect - the Baltic population has been taught for many years that Russia is about to attack. "The change in rhetoric — that Russia is not going to attack — began only recently and this new message has not yet been absorbed into the brains of the population," Reva notes.
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