Zelenskyy pitches Ukraine's drone know-how as Europe defense asset

Ukraine is trying to turn the war that has battered its cities into a security asset for Europe. In Tallinn, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed Nordic and Baltic leaders to treat Ukraine’s drone warfare experience as something to share, not just a plea for more aid, as the region wrestled with repeated drone incidents near its own borders.

The summit, hosted Tuesday by Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, brought together the leaders of the NB8, the Nordic-Baltic Eight grouping made up of five Nordic countries and three Baltic states. Estonia held the rotating presidency in 2026, giving Tallinn the platform to place air defense and drone threats near the top of the regional agenda. Zelenskyy was also set to meet Estonian President Alar Karis during the visit.

Karis made clear that the bloc is looking for answers that do not rely on firing costly fighter jet missiles at relatively cheap drones. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to help, offering low-cost interceptor drones, training and specialists who have already worked with partners in the Middle East. The pitch framed Kyiv less as a recipient of Western assistance than as a defense innovator with practical tools for Europe’s evolving deterrence strategy.

The message landed in a region that has already felt the spillover from the war next door. On March 25, 2026, a drone that entered Estonian territory from Russian airspace hit the chimney of the Auvere power station in Ida-Viru County. No one was injured and the power infrastructure was not damaged. In another episode in May, a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone over southern Estonia. Late-May reports also said stray drone activity in Lithuania sent people in Vilnius into underground car parks, while similar incidents prompted political backlash in Latvia.

Ukraine is now trying to formalize that experience into cooperation. Ukrainian officials have said counter-drone expert teams are being prepared for Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Romania. Reporting on June 9 also said Latvia became the sixth country to join Ukraine’s drone-cooperation initiative, with nearly 20 nations expressing interest. Ukraine had earlier discussed sending fully staffed anti-Shahed teams to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The Tallinn summit showed how the conversation has shifted. Kyiv is still fighting a full-scale Russian invasion, now in its fourth year, but it is also presenting itself as a source of air-defense expertise for Europe’s front line.