Thomas Röwekamp, Chair of the Bundestag’s Defence Committee, has said that the Alliance must act more decisively against Russia’s large-scale attacks, down drones over Ukraine and increase support for Kyiv with means to strike Russian targets.

Thomas Röwekamp, Chair of the Bundestag’s Defence Committee, has said that the Alliance must act more decisively against Russia’s large-scale attacks, down drones over Ukraine and increase support for Kyiv with means to strike Russian targets.

Source: European Pravda, citing Spiegel

Details: Röwekamp believes NATO has proven capable of countering such threats. “However, very serious challenges in air defence, especially against large-scale drone attacks, still lie ahead,” he said. Military capabilities in this area need to be expanded and Germany’s contribution should also be increased.

In his view, “the best way to counter drones during a war is to destroy their production facilities and launch systems”. Therefore, it is also important “that NATO partners quickly equip Ukraine so that it can take measures against these targets on Russian soil,” Röwekamp added.

He also believes coordination within NATO is essential to determine when and over whose territory conditions are met for a military response to a drone attack: “It should be possible, with the consent of the affected country, such as Ukraine, to down drones that threaten NATO territory, even when they are in their airspace.”

Background:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling for this for some time. Ideally, he would like Western states to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine. However, key NATO countries such as Germany and the US have always rejected the idea, arguing that it would directly involve them in a war with Russia. Zelenskyy confirmed this on Thursday 11 September following a phone conference with European leaders and governments.Ukraine proposes “to defend its airspace in a coordinated, thoughtful and joint manner,” he said. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius gave a cautious response on Wednesday when asked about the possibility of downing Russian drones over Ukrainian territory.During the Russian attack on Ukraine on the night of 9-10 September, Russian drones violated Polish airspace 19 times. Wreckage from 17 drones was found.

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