NATO rethinking deterrence as members shoot down Russian drones, Ukraine's NATO envoy says
Alona Hetmanchuk, head of Ukraine's mission to NATO, said in an interview that NATO member states are increasingly shooting down Russian drones entering their airspace, that the Alliance is reassessing its deterrence policy, and that it is integrating lessons from the war in Ukraine into its doctrines and planning. She framed drone provocations as possible planned Russian actions to test NATO's reaction and said the Alliance now treats airspace violations threatening infrastructure or people as threats to be eliminated immediately.
Key points
- Alona Hetmanchuk, head of Ukraine's mission to NATO, gave the interview to RBC-Ukraine.
- Some NATO member states have begun shooting down Russian drones over their own territory, according to Hetmanchuk.
- Romanian F-16s shot down three Russian drones over Romania in July 2026; a Spanish F-18 shot down a drone in Romanian airspace on August 16.
- NATO is re-examining its deterrence policy and what it means to be a defensive alliance during wartime, Hetmanchuk said.
- NATO's current logic is that an airspace violation threatening infrastructure or people should be eliminated immediately.
- NATO is shortening its intelligence–decision–strike–assessment cycle and integrating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian war into doctrines and planning.
- Hetmanchuk said NATO members are discussing Ukraine's potential to substitute for some capabilities currently provided by the United States.
Why it matters
NATO members have moved from observing Russian airspace violations to physically engaging Russian drones, a concrete shift in the Alliance's response posture. Hetmanchuk's account frames NATO as both shortening its decision-making cycle and looking to Ukraine as a source of battlefield expertise, including as a possible substitute for some US-provided capabilities, which speaks to the direction of transatlantic defense planning.
What happened
Alona Hetmanchuk, head of Ukraine's mission to NATO, told RBC-Ukraine that some NATO member states have begun shooting down Russian drones over their own territory because airspace violations are no longer isolated incidents and their frequency is increasing. She said NATO is re-examining its deterrence policy and what it means to be a defensive alliance during wartime, and that the Alliance's current logic is to eliminate immediately any airspace violation that threatens infrastructure or people. Hetmanchuk described drone provocations as potentially planned Russian actions aimed at testing the Alliance's reaction, and said NATO increasingly recognizes that a military confrontation with Russia, beyond the political and diplomatic one, is realistic and that the boundary between them is blurred.
She also said NATO is integrating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian war into its doctrines, planning and initiatives, including shortening the intelligence–decision–strike–assessment cycle. According to Hetmanchuk, NATO members are now discussing not only using Ukraine's potential to strengthen existing Alliance capabilities but also the prospect of Ukraine substituting for some capabilities currently provided by the United States.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The available coverage is Ukrainian-language media reporting an interview given by Ukraine's NATO envoy to a Ukrainian outlet, which centers Ukrainian diplomatic commentary. Ukrainian reporting frames NATO's policy shifts largely through the lens of Ukraine's own contribution to Alliance security, pairing the drone-shootdown story with Ukrainian battlefield experience in drone operations and electronic warfare, Ukrainian performance in NATO exercises, and calls to advance Ukraine's membership in a European defense union.
Background
Concrete recent incidents cited include Romanian F-16s shooting down three Russian drones over Romania in July 2026 and a Spanish F-18 shooting down a drone in Romanian airspace on August 16. Ukrainian forces reportedly destroyed two NATO-designated 'enemy' battalions in a single day during drone-warfare-style exercises in Estonia, and Ukrainian SOF operators reportedly defeated a US armored group during exercises in Germany. NATO instructors reportedly removed drone-operation and electronic-warfare training from the program for training Ukrainian military in Poland because Ukrainian experience exceeds the skill level of Western specialists. European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius said in early June that, while Ukraine's NATO membership remains unresolved, advancing Ukraine's membership in a European defense union should be pursued. Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Ukraine should pursue security arrangements of various levels both with NATO states and beyond.