Along Estonia’s border with Russia, authorities are extending a new border fence and building anti-tank ditches and bunkers in preparation for a potential conflict between NATO and Russia.

But those defenses won’t stop the immediate threat the alliance faces from drones and electronic warfare.

From the Baltic to the Black Sea, countries bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are facing the spillover of Moscow's war in Ukraine.

The incursion of around 20 Russian drones into Poland shone a spotlight on holes in the NATO alliance’s air defenses.

Multi-million dollar jets scrambled to respond to thousand-dollar drones which crashed into the Polish countryside.

Faced with a growing problem, defense ministers from the EU’s eastern border will meet on Friday for talks to create a “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern flank.

But while officials say the alliance knows how to identify missile threats, dealing with drones is a greater challenge.

Military and defense officials from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – NATO’s Baltic front line with Russia – told The Associated Press that defending against drones requires solving a complex set of technological, financial and bureaucratic problems.

Top European officials are increasingly backing the idea of a “drone wall” along the European Union’s eastern border despite a joint proposal from Estonia and Lithuania being denied EU funding in March.

AP video shot by Hendrik Osula

Production by Lorna Petty