Fighter jets and drones: NATO warns Russia of further airspace injuries

NATO warns Russia under the threat of violence against further airspace injuries. In accordance with international law, NATO and the Allies would use all the necessary military and non-military means to defend themselves and to deter threats from all directions, according to a declaration of all 32 alliance states published in Brussels.

The latest airspace injuries would recover the risk of miscalculations and endanger human lives. That must stop.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a press conference that NATO was ready and willing to defend every inch of the alliance area. Russian behavior is at least irresponsible and ruthless.

Is there a fire next time?

The opinion of the alliance states once again makes it very clear that in the future not only drones but also Russian planes could be shot down in order to rule out a threat to the alliance area. As a result, there could be a direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia.

In this context, however, Rutte emphasized that there is no automatism on NATO’s side. If necessary, one will shoot, of course, he said. Before that, however, the situation will always be assessed and a threat analysis. In the case of the latest airspace injury by armed Russian MIG-31-fight jets about Estonia, a shooting was not necessary.

Advice according to Article 4 of the Alliance Treaty

The meeting in the NATO headquarters had been convened at the request of Estonia. The Baltic Land had applied for consultations on Friday, citing Article 4 of the Alliance Treaty, after the three Russian MiG-31 machines had flown through Estonian airspace for around twelve minutes above the Baltic Sea. Article 4 of the NATO contract provides for consultations when an ally sees the integrity of the alliance area, the political independence or the security of a party threatened.

The special consultations according to Article 4 have already been the second since the beginning of the month. Poland applied for talks on September 10 after a double -digit number of Russian drones in the airspace of Poland had appeared. Previously, there had been consultations for Ukraine in 2022 because of the Russian attack and in 2020 due to the death of Turkish soldiers in the Syria conflict.

Use for better surveillance is already underway

In response to the violation of the Polish airspace, NATO had already launched an even better surveillance and defense of the eastern flank on September 12. For him, Germany provides four Eurofighter type to participate in armed protection flights over Poland.

The situation for NATO is currently delicate primarily because it is usually very difficult to prove that airspace injuries are deliberately carried out. In the case of Estonia’s allegations, Russia even denies that an airspace injury has occurred. It is therefore very likely that a Russian aircraft will only be fired if it could clearly pose a threat to NATO from the flight route.

Suspected case in Denmark: Rutte on the phone with Frederiksen

Drone sightings at Copenhagen Airport on Monday are not explicitly mentioned in the NATO statement. General Secretary Rutte phoned the incident with Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The Danes are currently finding out what exactly happened and what the background was, said Rutte. It could not yet be said whether there is a connection to the latest airspace injuries in Poland, Estonia and Romania through Russia. It is clear, however, that NATO will help wherever possible.

If it turns out that Russia has something to do with it, the tensions between the two sides could exacerbate again, since the drones also caused considerable economic damage. According to the airport information, around 100 flights had to be canceled in connection with the drone sighting. Over the course of today, further delays in departures and landings are expected.

It is “the most difficult attack on Danish critical infrastructure so far,” said Prime Minister Frederiksen. She did not express a concrete suspicion of who could be responsible for this.