WARSAW, Poland: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bloc is reportedly considering the option of shooting down Russian missiles if they approach its borders.
This was stated by Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna as he talked to the Polish media outlet RMF24 on Tuesday. He said the alliance was considering to shoot down Russian missiles if they stray too close to its borders.
It is to mention here that, on March 24, Poland had to scramble its fighter jets to protect its airspace when a Russian cruise missile entered Poland’s airspace for 39 seconds during Russia’s drone and missile attack against Ukraine.
Sergei Andreyev, Russia’s ambassador to Poland, was summoned by the Foreign Ministry of Poland after the incident, but he rejected the request.
Szejna said that “(Russia) knew that if the missile moved further into Poland, it would be shot down. There would be a counterattack.”
The Polish official said that various concepts were being analyzed within NATO, including for such missiles to be shot down when they stray too close to the NATO border.
The Polish Deputy Foreign Minister, however, said such a proposal would have to be approved by the Ukrainian side.
Russian missiles have previously entered Polish airspace during their offensive against Ukraine. In such an incident on December 29 last year, a missile entered Polish airspace, putting the country’s defences on high alert.
In another incident on November 15, 2022, a missile flew over Polish soil during a massive Russian offensive, killing two civilians. Polish investigators later concluded that it was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile launched to intercept a Russian attack.
