Russia has warned that it could go to war with the West if NATO follows through on threats to shoot down Russian fighter jets. Tensions have escalated after Moscow was accused of repeatedly entering NATO airspace in recent weeks, forcing the alliance to scramble jets and invoke Article 4 on two occasions.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the US President Donald Trump encouraged NATO members to shoot down Russian planes if they breach European airspace again. Reacting to that, Alexey Meshkov, Russia’s ambassador to France, said that shooting their aircraft down “would be war”.
He told RTL: “You know, there are many NATO planes that violate Russian airspace, deliberately or not, but it happens quite often. They are not shot down afterwards.” However, he did not provide an example.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday said that his country is at “war” with NATO and EU over Ukraine.
“NATO and the European Union want to declare, in fact, have already declared a real war on my country and are directly participating in it,” Lavrov said at a G20 conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
His comments came just days after Trump Moscow a “paper tiger” that can be shredded with patience and tactical support.
Security concerns across Europe remain elevated amid a rise in Russian sabotage operations and multiple drone sightings. Last week, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonia’s airspace. Yesterday, Hungarian fighter jets stationed in Lithuania intercepted a formation of Russian military aircraft approaching NATO airspace, according to the alliance. There were 19 intrusions into Polish airspace on 9 September, with three drones were confirmed to have been shot down. On September 13, Romania also scrambled fighter jets after a Russian drone entered its airspace. And, the Danish prime minister said Russian involvement in overnight drone incursions near four airports in Denmark could not be ruled out.
European diplomats have privately warned Moscow that any further incursions into NATO airspace could be met with decisive action, including the possibility of shooting down Russian fighter jets.
In a tense meeting in Moscow, ambassadors from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany met with Russian officials. Following the closed-door discussions, the diplomats privately concluded that the recent violation of Estonian airspace appeared to be a deliberate tactic ordered by Russian commanders, though Russia continues to deny that its jets crossed into Estonian territory.
