Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski believes Warsaw has a duty to to shoot down Russian drones and other missiles approaching from Ukraine before they enter Polish airspaceThe liberal-conservative politician told the British “Financial Times” (FT).
Sikorski thus presented himself against the official position of NATOaccording to which the risk of an escalation of the war through a possible direct confrontation with Russian forces is too great. The defense alliance has so far rejected the shooting down of Russian drones and missiles over Ukraine, as well as Kiev’s demand for a no-fly zone over the country.
NATO Deputy Secretary General contradicts
Sikorski told the FT: “Personally, I believe that if enemy missiles are heading into our airspace, then that would be a legitimate act of self-defenseBecause once they have penetrated, the risk of someone being injured by debris is considerable.” NATO membership does not override the duty of every country to protect its own airspace.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana disagreed: “We of course respect the right of every ally to ensure its national securityBut within NATO we have always coordinated before we do anything that could have consequences for all of us,” he told the newspaper. Poland has always consulted with its allies on this matter.
Last week, the Polish army detected by radar the Intrusion of an unspecified flying object from Ukraine detectedAs the PAP agency reported, citing the military, the altitude and speed of the object indicated that it was a Russian Shahed combat drone of Iranian design, which is used by Russia against Ukraine.
Russian missiles have violated Polish airspace several times during attacks on Ukraine. In 2022, two people were killed when a missile crashed in eastern Poland. The cause in that case was a misdirected Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile. (dpa)
