European Parliament recommends EU nations shoot down Russian jets
Photo: The European Parliament recommended that EU countries shoot down Russian aircraft (Getty Images)
The European Parliament has recommended that EU countries use military force to intercept and destroy Russian military aircraft if they enter European airspace.
A resolution on a united response to Russian attacks on EU territory was approved by a majority vote. The document was supported by 469 deputies, with 97 against and 38 abstentions.
It states that the European Parliament supports all measures aimed at coordinated and proportionate responses by EU countries in the event of any violations of their airspace, up to and including the elimination of potential threats from the air.
The European Parliament also strongly condemned Russia's reckless and escalatory actions in violating the airspace of EU member states and NATO allies Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania, as well as deliberate drone intrusions into critical infrastructure in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
Background
On the morning of September 19, 3 MiG-31 fighter jets of the Russian Air Force flew into Estonian airspace without permission. The incident was recorded immediately after the aircraft entered the country's territory.
2 more Russian fighter jets were spotted over the Petrobaltic oil and gas platform in the Baltic Sea. This happened within Polish territorial waters.
Lithuania proposed shooting down aircraft that invaded NATO countries' airspace, recalling the incident in Türkiye in 2015. At that time, a Russian Su-25 was shot down after crossing the airspace.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that his country is ready to destroy any hostile objects that invade its airspace. The British Ministry of Defense made a similar statement.
NATO member states are considering easing restrictions on fighter pilots regarding the destruction of enemy targets in the airspace near the alliance's eastern border.
