'Where is NATO’s layered air defense?': military expert on Russian drone threat

Military expert Dmytro Sniehyriov said this on Espreso TV.

“They are testing NATO countries’ air defenses. There was also a case in Lithuania, where a Gerbera decoy drone entered from the territory of Belarus. And there was no response from NATO air defense systems. Don’t you think this encourages the Russians to carry out further provocations?” he said.

The expert added that the Russians fully understand there will be no appropriate reaction.

“At most, they will summon the Russian ambassador — and that’s the end of it. But I have a question for our strategic partners. Fine, you don’t want to protect Ukraine’s airspace. But why is your own airspace — Polish, Romanian, and the Baltic countries’ — practically unprotected? Where is the layered air defense system that would make it clear to the Russians that such provocations are impossible and, ideally, that an adequate response is possible?” Sniehyriov said.

He noted that no such thing has been implemented.

“Thank God, the Poles did not blame Ukraine again for either failing to shoot down this drone or for Ukrainian missile defense systems’ rockets landing in Poland. There are plenty of questions regarding NATO countries’ readiness to respond to direct Russian aggression, especially against Poland and the Baltic states,” the expert concluded.

• On the night of August 20, a drone exploded in a cornfield in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was a Russian Shahed drone, while the Ministry of Defense called its crash a Russian provocation.
• Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a protest note to Russia after a drone fell in the Lublin Voivodeship on the night of August 20.
• Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki stated that if Russia continues to send drones regularly into NATO countries’ territory, NATO will respond collectively and firmly.