Poland and other countries bordering Ukraine are "obliged" to shoot down incoming Russian missiles before they enter their airspace, despite NATO's opposition, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the Financial Times in an interview, UNN reports.
Details
Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with the Financial Times that Warsaw is obliged to guarantee the safety of its citizens, despite fears that interceptions over Ukrainian territory could draw the alliance into a war with Russia against Ukraine.
"Membership in NATO does not abolish the responsibility of each country to protect its own airspace - it is our own constitutional duty," Sikorsky said.
"I personally believe that when enemy missiles are on their way to our airspace, it would be legitimate self-defense [to strike them], because once they enter our airspace, the risk of debris hitting someone becomes significant," he said.
Sikorski said that the risk of casualties among the Poles increases as the missile approaches the target during interception, so it is better to shoot it down at a higher altitude over Ukraine.
"Ukrainians told us: please," he added.
Sikorsky said it was too early to judge the military success of the operation in the Kursk region. But he hailed it as a way to shock Russian President Vladimir Putin and show him that "sacrifice does not always do what you expect.
Sikorsky added: "Not only Ukraine, but the entire West has to throw Putin off balance, and one of the mistakes that our side has constantly made is that we told Putin in advance what we would or would not do, and that is why the result of this (the Kushchyna operation - ed.) is much better than the counteroffensive last year, which was so easy to predict and therefore prepare for.
Addendum
Earlier this summer, Poland signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, in which the two countries pledged to explore "the possibility of possible interception in the airspace of Ukraine of missiles and UAVs launched in the direction of the territory of Poland, following the necessary procedures agreed upon by the states and organizations concerned.
However, the outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg rejected the proposal, pointing to the risk that the alliance would "become part of the conflict.
Mircea Geoană, NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Security, told the FT: "We have to do everything we can to help Ukraine and do everything we can to avoid escalation. And that is exactly what NATO's line has been consistent since the beginning of the war.
"Of course, we respect the sovereign right of every ally to ensure national security. But within NATO, we always consult before we get involved in something that could have implications for all of us - and our Polish allies have always been impeccable in their consultations within the alliance," added Geoană.
However, many Ukrainians hope that NATO's position will change, the newspaper points out.