EU unveils plan to be ready within five years to fend off any Russian attack

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas unveiled the European Commission’s plan (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

The European Union has laid out a plan aimed at ensuring that Europe can defend itself against outside attack by the end of the decade as concern mounts that Russia is already probing the bloc’s defences.

A top priority would be to erect drone defences to detect, track and disable rogue drones, following a series of troubling airspace violations across Europe over the last month – some close to Europe’s borders with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.