Eastern NATO Countries Call for Increased Air Defenses Due to Airspace Breaches

The leaders of 14 member states issued the call following a meeting held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest.

An instructor from the Ukrainian company General Cherry demonstrates the operation of an anti-air interceptor drone designed to destroy Russian attack drones in Kyiv region, on March 11, 2026. Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo

Leaders of NATO’s eastern member states said “repeated airspace violations on the Eastern Flank” highlight the urgent need to consolidate the alliance’s air defenses against missiles and drones, in a joint statement on May 13.

The leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary—the so-called Bucharest 9 (B9) group—and the Nordic nations of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, released the statement after a summit in the Romanian capital.