European Union Ambassador to the United States Jovita Neliupsiene has, according to Newsmax reporting, characterized the recent pattern of large drones lingering over European military and civilian sites as outright provocations — and Washington ought to listen. For months now Brussels and allied capitals have watched unidentified and Russian-made unmanned aircraft probe airports, munitions depots, and air bases, testing defenses and trying our patience. Americans who love freedom should see this for what it is: cold, deliberate pressure on the West that demands a sober, muscular response.
The facts on the ground are stark: multiple European countries reported coordinated drone incursions that grounded flights, forced airport closures, and put sensitive military assets at risk in September and October 2025. Poland even took the rare and serious step of triggering consultations at the U.N. after airspace violations, showing this is not mere headline noise but a real security crisis. If our leaders won’t name the problem and act, ordinary citizens will keep paying the price for political timidity.
Denmark, Belgium, Germany and others logged flights that circled near runways, radar installations, and parked fighters — behavior intelligence professionals describe as reconnaissance or testing. Copenhagen warned of “hybrid attacks,” while Moscow predictably denied any role and labeled suggestions of its involvement a “staged provocation.” That dodge should not fool anyone; whether Kremlin-directed or carried out by its proxies, these flights play directly into a strategy of intimidation that European leaders have rightly begun to call out.
This is not the time for platitudes about dialogue and diplomacy while our critical infrastructure is surveilled nightly. The European Parliament and several governments are pushing for unified countermeasures and a so‑called “drone wall” to protect airspace, yet words must become systems — radar, interceptors, and rules of engagement that deter, not invite, further tests. NATO and the United States must accelerate shipments of air-defense assets to front-line states and build interoperable anti-drone defenses before the next escalation.
Conservative Americans should be blunt: this crisis exposes the failures of a post-Cold War complacency that assumed aggression had become history. For years voters warned that weak borders and cheap rhetoric abroad would invite trouble; now the trouble is airborne and probing our allies’ vulnerabilities. We should back leaders who fund real deterrence, not those who shrink from hard choices because they fear inconvenient headlines or domestic political pushback.
Europe’s response so far — scrambling jets, convening emergency meetings, and accelerating defense procurement — is necessary but overdue. The lesson for Washington is clear: European security is an American interest, and that interest is best defended by a strong NATO, robust intelligence sharing, and a President willing to hold adversaries accountable. If the administration is serious about peace, it will match its warnings with hardware, timelines, and consequences that Putin’s circle can’t ignore.
Patriots in both parties should demand a plan: fast-track counter-UAS systems, expand sanctions on entities supporting drone programs, and deepen military cooperation with Baltic and Central European allies. The choice is simple — invest confidently in deterrence now, or face riskier, costlier confrontations later. Americans proud of our nation and our alliances will push for strength, clarity, and an honest strategy that protects Europe and preserves peace through strength.
