NATO’s rotational air defense presence on its eastern borders would be ‘appropriate response to Russian escalation,’ says Lithuanian Foreign

Expanding NATO’s rotational air defense presence in the Black and Baltic Sea regions would be an “appropriate response to the Russian escalation that is already taking place,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said at a press conference with his Romanian counterpart, Luminița Odobescu, in Vilnius on Jan. 11.

NATO allies agreed on this model in June 2023, but it has not yet been implemented. The Baltic states are currently in talks with countries that could deploy air defense systems in the region.

Read also: Poland’s Duda calls top brass to emergency session to evaluate threat after cross-border incursion

“Actions like the drone crashes, even if seemingly unintentional, are escalation. They would not be happening if Russia were not waging war against Ukraine,” Landsbergis said

These incidents highlight the security situation in the Black Sea region, not just in Ukraine, Odobescu said, noting the importance of implementing the commitments of “increased military presence in our region” agreed at the NATO’s Vilnius summit.

Read also: German Bundeswehr Inspector General warns of potential defensive war against Russia

On the eve of the Vilnius summit last July, NATO approved new regional defense plans reflecting changes in the alliance’s strategy.

Previously, NATO’s plan was for the Baltic states to try to hold off a Russian offensive until allied reinforcements could arrive. The new approach aims to ensure that the alliance is ready to fight back immediately.

Landsbergis also stressed the need to agree on the strongest possible package of new sanctions against Moscow before the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine at the end of February.

Odobescu, for her part, said her country would support Ukraine "as much as necessary".

Germany will also deploy four Eurofighter jets to Romania to support NATO's air policing mission by the end of November, Reuters reported on Nov. 9, citing a security source.

This decision comes in the wake of recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports along the Danube River. The attacks, just hundreds of meters from the Romanian border, along with the discovery of drone debris in Romania, have highlighted security risks for the military alliance, whose members have a mutual defense commitment.

The wreckage of Russian drones used in attacks on Ukraine has been discovered on Romanian territory several times.

Read also: Crater found in Romania following Russia’s shelling of Odesa Oblast

On Oct.11, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar announced the conclusion of an investigation into such incidents on Romanian territory. He stated that the drones were Russian and had been downed by Ukrainian air defense. Tilvar clarified that there was no evidence indicating an intention to attack Romanian territory, and Russian drone crashes in Romania were deemed “accidental.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda also convened an urgent meeting because an "unknown object" had been observed in the country's airspace during Russia’s massive missile attack on Ukraine on Dec. 29 2023.

The object came from the direction of the Ukrainian border and was monitored by air defense radars from the time it crossed into Polish airspace until the signal disappeared.

Another missile fell in the Polish village of Przewodów in November 2023. Initial reports suggested it was Russian made, but almost a year later, Polish experts concluded the missile was part of Ukraine’s air defense.

Ukraine intercepted 114 of the 158 drones and missiles Russia launched on Dec. 28-29 during its biggest attack since the start of the war, said Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.

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