Trump says NATO countries must shoot down Russian aircraft in case of incursion
Photo: US President Donald Trump (GettyImages)
NATO countries must shoot down Russian aircraft that violate the airspace of Alliance members, stated US President Donald Trump during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During the meeting with Zelenskyy, he was asked whether he believes NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they violate allied airspace.
"Yes, I do," Trump said.
Russian provocations
On September 19, Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace near Tallinn for 12 minutes. In response, Estonia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires to express a protest. The government called on NATO allies for consultations under Article 4 — a procedure last triggered after Russia’s drone attacks on Poland on September 10.
Moscow denies any violation.
Meanwhile, Norway reported that Russia has violated its airspace three times this year, with incursions lasting from one to four minutes.
In addition, flights at Copenhagen’s international airport were temporarily halted yesterday after several drones appeared in the airspace. Oslo’s Gardermoen airport in the Netherlands was also closed due to unidentified drones.
Today, NATO said Russian violations of Estonian airspace are part of Moscow’s irresponsible behavior.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was unlikely that NATO officials were talking about shooting down Russian aircraft unless they carried out an attack.
"I think what you have seen is NATO responding to those intrusions the way we respond to them all the time, and that is when they enter your airspace or your defense zone, you go up and you intercept them. And that’s what NATO has done, and that’s what NATO will continue to do," Rubio added.
