UK military to help protect Belgium after drone incursions

Military personnel and equipment are being sent to Belgium to strengthen its defenses following suspected Russian drone attacks on Britain’s airspace.

The new head of the UK military, Sir Richard Knighton, told the BBC on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that his Belgian counterpart had asked for help earlier this week and that kit and personnel were on the way.

Belgium’s main airport is Zavantem It had to close temporarily on Thursday night after drones were spotted nearby. They were also seen at other locations, including a military base.

Sir Richard said it was not known whether the attacks were carried out by Russia, but it was “plausible” that they were ordered by Moscow.

He added that the decision to aid Belgium was taken together with Defense Minister John Healey.

He added that Britain, alongside NATO allies, would assist Belgium “by providing our kit and capabilities” which he said were already deployed. On Friday, the German defense ministry said it would support Belgium with anti-drone measures following a request from Brussels.

About 3,000 Brussels Airlines passengers were affected by the outage, and the carrier said it faced “significant costs” as dozens of flights were canceled or diverted.

Although German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Belgian security services announced that they suspected Russia, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken previously admitted that there was no evidence of this.

“At first, drones flying over our military bases were seen as our problem,” Francken said earlier this week. he said.

“It has now become a serious threat affecting civilian infrastructure in many European countries.”

More generally, Sir Richard said Russia was “currently the most urgent threat” to Europe.

“The illegal invasion of Ukraine demonstrated the barbaric nature of Russia’s war effort,” he told the programme.

added this sabotage And murders It was carried out by Russia on the territory of the United Kingdom and the so-called hybrid warfare, “our” [The UK] We need to strengthen ourselves.”

The shadow defense secretary welcomed the move, saying there was a “high threat environment” and an important part of deterring threats was “acting with other countries through NATO”.

But James Cartlidge criticized the government’s approach to increasing defense spending, saying more urgency was needed.

In the spring, the government announced that defense spending would rise to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027, aiming to increase this to 3% in the next parliament.

Sir Richard said the funding was “more than I have known in my entire career”.

A spate of drone sightings in recent months has caused major flight disruptions across Europe, including Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Although some officials accused Russia of “hybrid warfare”, the Kremlin denied any involvement.

Pistorious suggested that the latest observations may be linked to discussions on the European Union. We will use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine In the form of a loan of 140 billion euros.

Although there is no public evidence of Russian involvement, suspicions have grown. more serious airspace attacks by Russia in Eastern Europe in recent months. fighter jets and larger attack drones.

England recently sent RAF Typhoon jets will take part in defense missions on Poland as part of NATO mission to strengthen the eastern flank in response to attacks.