European Parliament calls for downing Russian drones and aircraft violating EU borders

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 9 October urging EU member states to shoot down aerial targets that illegally violate their borders.

As reported by a European Pravda correspondent in Strasbourg, MEPs believe that Russian aircraft and drones may be downed if they violate the airspace of EU states.

The resolution was supported by 469 MEPs, while 97 voted against and 38 abstained.

"The European Parliament … encourages any initiative that enables the EU and its Member States to take coordinated, united and proportionate action against all violations of their airspace, including shooting down airborne threats," the resolution reads.

MEPs welcomed the EU's "drone wall" and the Eastern Flank Watch initiatives.

The European Parliament stressed that Russia's acts of sabotage and hybrid attacks against the EU can be classified as "state-sponsored terrorism", even if they do not reach the threshold of an armed attack.

MEPs also urged the EU Council and the European Commission to "increase the effectiveness and impact of sanctions on Russia" and to extend them to other countries supporting Russia's actions, including Belarus, Iran and North Korea.

In addition, the European Parliament demanded sanctions against Chinese companies supplying Russia with dual-use goods and military components used in the production of drones and missiles.

During the European Council meeting in Brussels on 23-24 October, EU leaders will discuss a draft "roadmap" for implementing the Union's defence strategy, which includes the creation of a "drone wall".

In recent weeks, several EU countries have detected unidentified drones in their airspace. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he believes Russia is behind many of the drone flights spotted over Germany.