Russian jet shot down could cause NATO divisions - The Economist
The shooting down of a Russian aircraft could cause divisions within NATO (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
For decades, Russia has occasionally violated the national airspace of NATO allies. However, over the past year, these violations have roughly doubled and become more serious, according to The Economist.
The Economist notes that the airspace violation of Estonia was the most significant such incursion in the country in over 20 years.
Meanwhile, the large-scale drone attack on Poland marked the biggest breach in the alliance’s 76-year history.
The Economist notes that, until this year, NATO had invoked Article 4, which initiates consultations among the alliance’s 32 members, only seven times in its history. However, in the past two weeks, it has been invoked twice: first by Poland, and then by Estonia.
On September 19, Italy, Finland, and Sweden scrambled fighter jets to intercept three Russian aircraft, which confirmed the interception with a wing wave but did not communicate by radio or change course.
Drones over the Nordic countries
Additionally, on September 22, airports in Copenhagen and Oslo were temporarily closed due to unknown drones detected in their airspace.
On the night of September 24, drones again flew over four Danish airports, including a military airbase.
Two days later, Swedish officials reported drones over the Karlskrona archipelago in the east of the country.
Drones were again sighted over Danish facilities, including the airbase, on September 27.
Denmark appears convinced that these recent incursions were not accidental, The Economist notes.
Russia’s goal in violating NATO countries’ airspace
Recent Russian actions are likely aimed at creating divisions between Europe and the US, as well as among European NATO members themselves, according to The Economist.
“Russian incursions create the impression that Europe is unable to protect its airspace, undermining public confidence in governments. They also expose the fact that Mr Trump has little appetite to back his European partners in a moment of crisis. And they accentuate Europe’s internal splits over how to respond,” the article notes.
New attempts to violate Danish airspace
As RBC-Ukraine reported, on the night of September 29, Denmark scrambled fighter jets in response to possible drone activity.
According to police, the jets were deployed following numerous reports from residents of unusual objects in the sky.
At the same time, no official statements about fighter jet activity have been issued by the armed forces.
Danish military personnel continue to monitor the airspace and collect information on potential drones to ensure the security of the country and its maritime infrastructure. It is known that two F-16s are constantly on combat alert, ready to take off within minutes in case of a potential threat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russian tankers could be used to launch and control drones over European cities, but Danish intelligence agencies have not yet confirmed Russia’s involvement in the incidents in Denmark.
