European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of conducting a hybrid war against the European Union following a series of recent Russian airspace violations.
"It's time to call it by its name. This is hybrid warfare," the commission president said in her speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday during a debate on the Russian incursions.
To back up her accusation, von der Leyen cited further examples of attacks, including severed undersea cables, cyberattacks on airports and logistics centers and malicious influence campaigns during elections.
"These incidents are calculated to linger in the twilight of deniability," she said. But they are part of an escalating campaign to unsettle EU citizens, test the EU's resolve, divide the bloc and weaken support for Ukraine," she added.
Hybrid warfare, von der Leyen explained, is a combination of methods, from disinformation to cyberattacks or military actions, by which a perpetrator aims to weaken an opponent while remaining as inconspicuous as possible.
"The founding mission of the European Union is to preserve peace, and today that means having the capacity to deter aggression and provocation," von der Leyen said. "Europe must urgently equip itself with the strategic capacity to respond."
The commission head said she would soon present a roadmap on how to improve capabilities in nine key areas, including air defence, artillery and electronic warfare, by 2030.
She also mentioned the plans to build a protective shield for NATO's eastern flank, which include a so-called drone wall.
"The drone wall is our response to the realities of modern warfare," the commission head said.
"Just think about what happened in Poland. We had to deploy very expensive systems ... to take down relatively cheap mass produced drones. This is absolutely not sustainable," she continued.
In September, Polish and NATO forces for the first time shot down Russian military drones that entered NATO airspace.
Von der Leyen said the EU needs an affordable and practical system that enables rapid detection and, if necessary, neutralization of drones. Much can be learned from Ukraine in this regard, she added.
