Europe needs to learn from Ukraine and swiftly build a “wall” of anti-drone defences, the EU’s defence chief told AFP Friday, after talks with eastern member states rattled by a string of airspace violations by Russia.

Defence ministers from around 10 EU countries agreed during the talks, convened by commissioner Andrius Kubilius, to make the so-called “drone wall” a priority for the bloc.

Focus sharpened on the threat this week after unidentified drones forced the closure of airports in Denmark — which joined the meeting.

“We need to move fast,” Kubilius told AFP in an interview. “And we need to move, taking all the lessons from Ukraine and making this drone wall together with Ukraine.”

Ukraine — which has developed a raft of capabilities to detect and shoot down Russian drone swarms

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