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WARSAW: Ukraine has offered to build a joint aerial defense shield with its allies to protect against threats from Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, after a series of airspace incursions that caused alarm on NATO’s eastern flank.
NATO leaders have said that Russia has been testing the alliance’s readiness and resolve with airspace incursions in Poland and the Baltic states, and Kyiv says its experience in dealing with aerial threats would be valuable.
“Ukraine proposes to Poland and all our partners to build a joint, fully reliable shield against Russian aerial threats,” he said in an address to the Warsaw Security Forum delivered via video link.
“This is possible. Ukraine can counter all kinds of Russian drones and missiles and if we act together in the region we will have enough weapons and production capacity.”
Ukraine has already said that its troops and engineers will train their Polish counterparts on countering drones.
The topic of defense cooperation with Kyiv was high on the agenda as leaders gathered in Warsaw for the annual security forum.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the conference that “Europe’s and Ukraine’s defense industry must work together more closely and effectively.”
“The European Union must back this by providing a much more flexible regulatory framework for the defense industry in Europe.”
Following the Russian incursions into NATO airspace, countries on the alliance’s eastern flank have agreed on the need for a “drone wall” with advanced detection, tracking and interception capabilities.
However, Pistorius warned that establishing this would not be a quick process.
“We’re not talking about a concept that will be realized within the next three or four years,” he said. “We need to prioritize, and recognize that we require more capabilities and capacities than previously described.”

LILLE: French security forces rescued almost 400 migrants seeking to take advantage of good weather and make the perilous crossing across the Channel to England in a weekend that also saw several fatalities, authorities in northern France said on Monday.
Crossings have been continuing in good weather conditions despite intense efforts by French and British authorities to stop the flow, including a deal involving sending some migrants who reach England back to France.
Rescue forces were deployed on Saturday and Sunday at some 24 departure points where migrants were seeking to board the boats, the regional maritime prefectures said.
On Saturday, approximately 220 people were rescued notably in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Dieppe, and Calais. Two Somali women, who had suffered cardiac arrest, died despite resuscitation attempts. Five people were slightly injured, and several suffered from hypothermia.
On Sunday, at least 176 migrants were rescued, including several injured. A teenager died after being found unconscious on Ecault beach outside Calais.
Meanwhile the body of a migrant was also recovered Saturday morning in Gravelines east of Calais although prosecutors believe his death could have occurred several days earlier.
This brought the number of deaths during these attempted illegal crossings of the Franco-British border to at least 27 since the beginning of the year, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
But some 32,000 people have managed to make the English coast so far this year, a record, while 895 people arrived on Saturday alone aboard just 12 small boats, according to the British government.
Under a recent Franco-British scheme, the UK can return them after arrival if they are deemed ineligible for asylum, including those who have passed through a “safe country” to reach UK shores.
In return, London will accept an equal number of migrants from France who are likely to have their asylum claims granted.
Earlier this month, four migrants were removed from the UK to France while a family of three were the first migrants to arrive in the UK under the deal after their right to stay was recognized. Critics say, however, that the numbers being affected by the deal is minute compared to the numbers still crossing.