NATO didn’t make any decisions on shooting down Russian targets over Ukraine - Sikorski
Poland’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski (Photo: Getty Image)
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski discussed with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha the possibility of involving NATO countries to intercept Russian drones over Ukrainian territory, according to RMF FM.
During a press conference on Wednesday, journalists asked Sikorski how Poland views Kyiv’s proposals for NATO aviation and air defense systems to shoot down Russian missiles and drones that pose a threat to Alliance airspace.
According to the Polish Foreign Minister, Sybiha repeated this request in a conversation with him later that same day.
At the same time, Sikorski emphasized that Polish pilots face certain operational restrictions - they are primarily responsible for ensuring the safety of civilians on the ground.
“Meanwhile, Ukraine is asking us that if something clearly approaches our borders and poses a direct threat to us, we could engage it over their territory,” he noted.
Sikorski clarified that no decisions have been made on this matter yet.
Russian drone attack on Polish territory
On the night of September 10, about 20 attack drones entered Polish airspace from Ukraine and Belarus. Polish air defense forces managed to shoot down only four of them.
In response to the attack, the Polish Air Force and NATO allies scrambled aircraft, and four airports were closed - two in Warsaw, as well as in Rzeszów and Lublin.
Later, fragments of an unknown missile and seven Russian drones, preliminarily identified as Gerber, were found in Poland.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that a new phase of the war has begun and proposed that NATO countries shoot down Russian missiles and drones approaching the Polish border over Ukrainian territory.
For an analysis of what these actions by the Kremlin indicate, why these events happened now, and how the Alliance may respond, read the full article by RBC-Ukraine.
