“NATO membership does not replace the responsibility of each country to protect its own airspace.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski
Poland and other countries bordering Ukraine have a “duty” to shoot down Russian missiles before they enter their airspace – despite NATO resistance.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the Financial Times.
Sikorski said Warsaw had a duty to ensure the safety of its citizens, despite concerns that an interception over Ukrainian territory could draw the Atlantic alliance into Russia's war against Ukraine.
“NATO membership does not cancel the responsibility of each country to protect its own airspace – this is our own constitutional duty,” Sikorski said.
“I personally believe that when enemy missiles are on their way to our airspace, it would be legitimate self-defense (to strike them), because as soon as they enter our airspace, the risk that debris could injure someone becomes significant,” the minister added.
Earlier this summer, Poland signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, in which the two countries committed to studying “the feasibility of a possible interception in Ukrainian airspace of missiles and UAVs fired in the direction of Polish territory, observing the necessary procedures agreed upon by the states and the organizations involved.” /p>
But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is about to step down, rejected the proposal, saying the alliance “could become part of the conflict.”
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Sikorski insisted on his country’s right to intercept after a likely Russian drone crossed into Poland on Aug. 26. Polish authorities have since been searching for the drone, which may have landed in Ukraine after it likely went off course during Russia’s massive missile attack on Ukraine.
Other missiles have landed in Poland since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Russian drones have also recently entered Romanian airspace.
Sikorski said the risk of Polish casualties increases the closer a missile is to its target during an interception, so it’s better to shoot it down at a higher altitude over Ukraine. “The Ukrainians told us: here you go,” he added.
Some Western officials say that stance blurs red lines over Western interference and could lead to Russian retaliation.
- Kyiv has been pushing its Western allies to become more involved in the war, including by providing air defense over western Ukraine from batteries located on NATO territory. The allies have also been repeatedly asked to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. NATO has rejected such calls, saying they could lead to direct conflict with Russian forces.