Latvia warns Europe falling behind in Ukraine’s fast-moving drone war

Latvia’s president has warned that Europe and NATO are struggling to keep pace with the rapid development of drone and aerial warfare in Ukraine, saying current efforts to prepare for a potential air war could become obsolete within months.

Edgars Rinkēvičs made the comments in an interview with The Guardian in Washington, where he said advances in drone warfare were moving at “lightning speed”.

“What we see is that air defence, drone defence, anti-ballistic defence has serious problems,” he said. “And let’s be frank. Ukraine has it. The whole of Europe and Nato has it.

“Because if Russia decides to use a couple of missiles in that territory, I think that would be a serious challenge today for many countries to cope with that,” he added.

Ukraine and its European allies are facing delays in supplies of Patriot and other air-defence missiles. The US has used nearly two-thirds of its stocks of critical interceptors in the war in Iran, according to an analysis of a Congressional Budget Office assessment, while replenishing those stocks could take at least five years.

Rinkēvičs said Patriot systems remained among the most capable options available, despite discussions over expanding production in Europe and Ukraine.

“It’s up to the United States government, it’s up to the company,” he said, referring to efforts to increase production, while noting that talks were continuing and that licensing issues presented difficulties. “We have some capacities in Europe, but let’s face it: Patriots are still one of the best, if not the best, to tackle this.”

His comments come as NATO allies increase warnings about the possibility of Russia widening the conflict beyond Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on September 17 that Russia could launch drone or missile strikes against NATO countries supporting Ukraine in the coming months, potentially testing the alliance’s commitment to collective defence under Article 5.

US President Donald Trump, asked about the possibility of Russia attacking Ukraine’s European allies, said: “I think they already have attacked Ukrainian allies. They’ve been attacking Ukrainian allies for approximately five years.”

The Baltic states have sought to balance warnings about the risks from Russia with assessments that there is no indication Moscow is preparing for a conventional war to reclaim territory once held by the Soviet Union.

Rinkēvičs said Russia could increase mobilisation after local elections and use the winter to intensify its efforts in Ukraine while seeking to discourage European countries from continuing their support.

“I would rule out a conventional military incursion but we should be very vigilant when it comes to all kinds of other possibilities,” he said.

Recent incidents have heightened concerns. A NATO jet shot down a Russian drone over Lithuania on September 15, while Poland scrambled fighter jets and temporarily closed two airports on September 17 following a Russian strike on western Ukraine.

Rinkēvičs also raised concerns over whether European allies would meet a NATO goal of spending 5% of GDP on defence, a benchmark that has become important to the Trump administration.

He said discussions about Europe taking greater responsibility for its own defence had become “more constructive”, but warned that building military capabilities would take time.

“Our message is also to do that, we need time,” he said. “It cannot happen in a month, or in a year.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev