United Kingdom and Polish officials vow to shoot down any Russian aircraft violating their airspace after NATO members accused Moscow of incursions into the alliance's territory.
“If another missile or aircraft enters our space without permission, deliberately or by mistake, and gets shot down and the wreckage falls on Nato territory, please don’t come here to whine about it,” Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, told an emergency meeting of the UN security council in New York on Monday that was called to discuss a Russian airspace incursion over Estonia.
This echoes warnings from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said Russian aircraft that fly over Poland will be shot down without discussion.
UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper shared similar sentiments and accused Russia of “violating its most basic obligations under the UN Charter”.
“These latest acts are dangerous and reckless,” she said.
“At worst, they are a deliberate attempt to undermine the territorial integrity of sovereign nations and European security.”
“They risk miscalculation, they open the door to direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia.”
She said that Russia’s warmongering was a threat to international peace and that NATO’s combined strength was greater than Russia’s.
“We stand ready to take all steps necessary to defend NATO skies and NATO’s territory. We are vigilant,” she said.
“We are resolute, and if we need to confront planes that are operating in Nato airspace without permission, then we will do so.”
This comes after incursions into Poland, where Russian drones were shot down, Romania and Estonia.
