Poland threatens to shoot down Russian jets after airspace violations

Poland Threatens to Down Russian Jets Crossing Its Borders

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland is prepared to shoot down foreign aircraft that cross into its territory without authorization after a series of Russian incursions into NATO airspace.

“We will most certainly take decisions to shoot down flying objects when they violate our territory and fly over Poland,” Tusk told reporters in northern Poland Monday when asked about the prospect of downing Russian jets. “There is no room for discussion here.”

Poland is among North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states that have responded to incursions of Russian aircraft this month, including three MiG-31 jets that crossed into Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland Friday. Poland, which moved to shoot down drones that crossed into its territory earlier this month, and Estonia both invoked Article 4 of NATO’s treaty, which triggers consultations and can open a path to coordinated action among allies.

Tusk spoke as the United Nations Security Council gathered in New York for an emergency meeting to discuss the breach in Estonia, which the government in Tallinn called part of a broader Russian campaign to test how firmly NATO is prepared to respond to territorial threats.

Poland’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, laced into Russia’s representative in New York, saying that Warsaw “will not be intimidated.”

“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, don’t come here to whine about it,” Sikorski said. “You have been warned.”

The sudden increase in Russia’s airspace violations has rattled NATO with Kremlin’s war on Ukraine is well into its fourth year. NATO scrambled jets again early Sunday in response to a Russian military plane flying in neutral airspace over the Baltic Sea, the German Air Force said in a statement.

Russia’s Defense Ministry denied its jets had entered Estonian airspace, saying the aircraft followed a planned route from the Karelia Republic — which borders Finland — to the Kaliningrad exclave.

Estonia was set to follow Poland in requesting additional air-defense assistance, prompting concern that resources may be diverted from the effort to defend Ukraine.
As NATO leaders lined up to demand firmer responses to Russian action, much will depend on whether US President Donald Trump will go along. Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump was noncommittal about the US response.
“I don’t love it,” Trump told reporters. “When that happens, it could be big trouble. But I’ll let you know later.”

While Tusk insisted that Poland alone has the right to defend its own territory, he also underlined that his government is in ongoing discussions with its allies and he would ensure that any response was coordinated.

“You really need to think twice before deciding on actions that could trigger a very acute phase of conflict, which is why we are primarily in constant consultation with our allies here,” Tusk said.

Tusk had been asked about comments over the weekend by Czech President Petr Pavel, who had also suggested that NATO governments need to be prepared to shoot down Russian jets in the case of further violations.

The incident this month into Poland prompted the government in Warsaw to shoot down Russian drones for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. NATO moved to reinforce its eastern borders by deploying additional air defense systems and military jets in an operation named Eastern Sentry.