Poland warns Russia at UN Security Council: Don’t complain if your plane is shot down
Photo: Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (Getty Images)
NATO countries will shoot down Russian planes or missiles if they violate their airspace. The West will not allow itself to be intimidated, said Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski at the UN Security Council, The Guardian reports.
Sikorski noted that NATO countries "have given Russia a pass in the past in such circumstances", but instead of apologies, Moscow only lied.
According to the minister, violations of Alliance countries’ airspace are part of a hybrid war that Russia has been waging against the West for many years. This includes the killing of politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, and refugees; cyberattacks on hospitals and financial institutions; arson in countries including Poland, the UK, and Lithuania; parcels containing incendiary devices across Europe, including Germany; and attacks on Ukrainian embassies.
Sikorski emphasized that Russia must receive a clear signal: such provocations will not be tolerated.
Addressing Russian representatives directly, Sikorski stressed that Moscow disregards international law and is incapable of living peacefully with its neighbors.
He added that Russia’s "insane nationalism" will continue to fuel its thirst for domination until Russians realize that the empire will not be restored, and that every Ukrainian drone attack "brings this day closer".
"We are peaceful democracies who have studiously avoided actively joining your attempt to reconquer Ukraine. But we will not be intimidated. I have only one request to the Russian government: 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, please don’t come here to whine about it. You have been warned," Sikorski said.
Drone attack on Poland
A few weeks ago, Russia attacked Poland with its strike drones. In response, Moscow claimed that it had no intention of targeting sites on Polish territory.
Polish officials stressed afterward that the attack was not accidental.
