The invasion of Russian drones into the airspace of NATO member states could lead to a dangerous escalation that risks escalating into a military confrontation. This was stated by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, commenting on the recent incident in Poland, writes UNN with reference to Reuters.
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On Wednesday, Poland reported shooting down Russian drones that invaded its airspace during a massive Russian attack on western regions of Ukraine. Warsaw called it an "act of aggression" and, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war, opened fire on Russian targets that crossed the country's border.
No one here is safe – neither in our region, nor in Europe, nor in the alliance itself. Such incidents are too close to scenarios where everything can escalate
He refrained from using the term "conflict" but admitted that such situations could escalate into an exchange of military strikes between NATO and Russia.
The head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry emphasized that it is in the interest of all parties to avoid escalation, including Russia itself. At the same time, he called on allies to send Moscow a "clear signal" about the unacceptability of such actions. According to him, the responsibility for preventing such incidents lies directly with the Kremlin.
Budrys also emphasized the need to strengthen air defense systems in the Baltic countries and Poland, which border Russia and its ally Belarus. This, according to the Lithuanian diplomat, should be a key task for NATO in the near future.