Recent reports claim that Russia has issued a concerning warning if any of its aircraft are downed by NATO forces.
Tensions have been escalating between Russia and Western nations due to accusations against Russia for breaching NATO airspace.
Recently, it was reported that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace for around 12 minutes.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna condemned the incident, describing it as ‘unprecedentedly brazen’.
He stated: “Russia has violated Estonian airspace four times already this year, which is unacceptable in itself, but today’s violation, during which three fighter jets entered our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen. Russia’s ever-increasing testing of borders and aggressiveness must be responded to by rapidly strengthening political and economic pressure.”
Russia has denied these claims, asserting their jets were flying over neutral Baltic waters, not Estonian airspace.
This incident occurred shortly after Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, announced that Polish forces had intercepted several drones, identified as Russian, that had breached Polish airspace.
He noted: “Last night, the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones. Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down. I am in constant communication with the secretary general of NATO and our allies.”
In response to the violation, Poland called to activate NATO’s Article 4, which allows member states to consult whenever they perceive a threat to their territorial integrity or security.
Subsequently, President Donald Trump advised NATO countries to shoot down Russian planes if they violate airspace again.
In response to a journalist’s inquiry about taking such action, he affirmed, ‘yes, I do’.
However, Alexey Meshkov, Russia’s ambassador to France, warned that shooting down their aircraft would be an act of war.
He is quoted in a translated RTL article saying: “You know, there are many NATO aircraft that violate Russian airspace (…) it happens quite often. Afterwards, they are not shot down.”
This development comes amid warnings from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the broader implications of Russia’s actions.
At the United Nations HQ, he remarked: “Putin will keep driving the war forward, wider and deeper. We told you before: Ukraine is only the first. Now, Russian drones are already flying across Europe, and Russian operations are already spreading across countries. Putin wants to continue this war by expanding it, and no one can feel safe right now.”