Operation Eastern Sentinel does not currently involve integration with Ukrainian air defense

This was stated by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Hrynkevich, at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Eastern Sentinel will be focused primarily on protecting Alliance territory. And at this point, I see no conflict between the support that individual countries are providing to Ukraine and what they are proposing to do for that effort.

Alexus Hrynkevich

Supreme Allied Commander Europe

This is how Hrynkevich answered the question of whether it is time to integrate the anti-aircraft capabilities of the Alliance and Ukraine and act together against the same enemy.

At the same time, the general positively assessed Ukraine's experience and the EU initiative to build the so-called drone wall, saying that such methods are in line with NATO's intentions.

This is very much in line with some of our thinking about strengthening our eastern flank in terms of land and air. Having just returned from the Baltics, where a number of countries are investing in technology, studying Ukraine's experience in terms of what sensors and what weapons, kinetic and non-kinetic, I understand that this can be effective. And so integrating these types of defenses into our day-to-day deterrence activities and into our regional plans is absolutely what we want to do in the future.

Hrynkevich added that NATO can learn a lot from Ukraine itself.

They have a well-developed defense-industrial base. They have extensive experience with drone interceptors. We have the capacity, we have the Joint Analytical Training Center in Poland, which is common to NATO and Ukraine, where we take lessons.