Brussels had requested assistance from Germany following a “significant increase” in sightings of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles.

By Sabine Siebold BERLIN (Reuters) -German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius suggested a link on Friday between recent drone incidents in Belgium and discussions over the use of frozen Russian assets,

Brussels seeks international help as mysterious drone flights disrupt air traffic for the fourth day in a row, prompting new EU visa restrictions on Russian nationals.

Belgium's defense minister confirmed that drones had flown into the area near the Kleine Brogel air base in northeast Belgium in two phases.

Belgium will work to improve surveillance of its airspace following repeated sightings of drones over its airports and military bases, Defence Minister Theo Francken said on Thursday.

Belgian intelligence services believe Russia is behind a series of drone flights detected in recent weeks over military bases and airports.

Germany will support Belgium with counter-drone defense systems in response to increasing sightings of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) near Belgian military facilities, the German Defense Ministry announced Thursday.

Belgium's defense minister said that more counter-uncrewed aerial systems "are urgently needed" after three drones spied on the Kleine-Brogel base.