On Monday, NATO allies at the United Nations accused Russia of violating the alliance’s airspace in Estonia and Poland. Britain stated that these actions risked triggering an armed conflict.
Confronting Russia at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “Your reckless actions risk direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia. Our alliance is defensive, but be under no illusion, we stand ready to defend NATO’s skies and NATO’s territory.” She continued, “If we need to confront planes operating in NATO space without permission, then we will do so.”
Estonia reported on Friday that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had entered its airspace without permission and remained for 12 minutes before being forced to leave. Western officials said the incident was designed to test NATO’s readiness and resolve.
The Security Council convened on Monday to discuss the issue, with NATO consultations scheduled for Tuesday. The incident occurred just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting NATO jets to shoot some of them down.
Cooper’s comments were echoed by other Western ministers in the Security Council, including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who suggested the multiple incidents could not be considered an accident.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said such actions by Moscow should be met with a robust response and renewed Kyiv’s offer to integrate its air defenses with those of neighboring Western countries to counter the Russian threat. “A strong response means that a threat should not be escorted, neither for 12 minutes nor for one minute. It should be neutralized,” said the minister, Andrii Sybiha.
The United States’ new envoy to the UN, Michael Waltz, making his first appearance since taking his post, stated that Moscow needed to de-escalate tensions, not exacerbate them. “I want to take this first opportunity to repeat and to emphasize, the United States and our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Waltz said.
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmytry Polyanskiy, said there was no evidence to back their claims and accused European powers of levying baseless accusations. “We won’t be partaking in this theater of the absurd,” he said. “When you decide that you want to engage in a serious discussion about European security, about the fate of our common continent, about how to make this continent prosperous and secure for everybody, we’ll be ready.”
