Baltics Look to Ukraine for Civil Defense Expertise

Following a series of airspace violations, the Baltic states are increasingly turning to Ukraine for expertise in building bomb shelters and civilian protection infrastructure designed to withstand drone attacks.

According to Ukrainian defense industry officials, companies from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are in talks to purchase air-raid shelters and gain access to Ukrainian wartime know-how.

The growing interest has been driven largely by recent drone incidents across the region. In Lithuania, a NATO air policing mission was activated last week after a drone appeared near the Belarusian border. Similar incidents have also been reported in Latvia and Estonia.

“The first hours of aggression would be extremely dangerous”, said Ihor Fedirko, head of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Council. According to him, the value lies not only in the shelters themselves, but also in Ukraine’s practical wartime experience.

Ukrainian companies warn that Russia is capable of launching hundreds of drones against Ukraine in a single night.

“For countries smaller than Ukraine, this would be a disaster”, Fedirko said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius are also due to visit Lithuania on Tuesday for talks with regional leaders on strengthening security and defense.

(politico, bak)