Russia has condemned the European Union’s initiative to strengthen its defences against drones, asserting that the bloc’s response to unidentified unmanned aircraft crossing its borders will only heighten tensions.

Defence ministers from around ten EU countries convened on Friday to prioritise the establishment of a so-called “drone wall,” in response to recent airspace violations attributed to Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that these measures would escalate military and political tensions across Europe, labelling the plans as driven by “personal ambitions and political games” of the EU leadership, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had previously called for the “drone wall” in a keynote address earlier this month, shortly after NATO shot down Russian drones over Poland.

The EU aims to learn from Ukraine’s experience, as the country faces daily attacks from Russian drone swarms and has developed cost-effective methods to intercept them.

In response to the EU’s actions, Moscow denied any violations of NATO’s airspace, dismissing the bloc’s reaction as “hysteria.”

Russian officials asserted that their pilots adhere to international air navigation rules and claimed there is no evidence linking the drones that have entered European airspace to Russia.