Bloomberg: Europe privately warned the Kremlin that it would indeed shoot down Russian planes

EU diplomats have issued a clear warning to the Kremlin. NATO is ready to respond to new violations of the Alliance’s airspace – up to and including shooting down Russian planes.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing officials familiar with the negotiations.

According to the publication, representatives of Great Britain, France and Germany held a private and tense meeting with Russian diplomats in Moscow. Western countries expressed strong concern over the incident with MiG-31 fighters, which invaded Estonian airspace last week . European representatives concluded that this incident was a deliberate provocation, authorized by the Russian command.

“European diplomats warned the Kremlin this week that NATO is prepared to respond with full force to further violations of its airspace, including by shooting down Russian planes,” Bloomberg writes.

Moscow has denied any violations, insisting its flights comply with international rules. The Kremlin has also said the drone incursions into Poland were “a mistake,” and Russian officials have taken detailed notes of diplomats’ warnings.

The incidents of recent weeks have created an unprecedented challenge for NATO, especially against the backdrop of increased Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that Moscow is testing the Alliance’s defense readiness.

“Russia is testing us: our readiness, our determination to respond. I think it is very important to show solidarity – and more importantly, a quick response,” Nauseda noted.

Numerous Russian provocations have sparked debate within the Alliance. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for decisive action, including shooting down Russian planes , while German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has warned that allies could be “caught in Putin’s escalation trap.” Russia itself has, of course, exploded with threats.

“If NATO shoots down a Russian plane under the pretext of allegedly violating airspace, it will be war,” said Russian Ambassador to France Alexei Meshkov.

Interestingly, despite calls for caution from Italy, the Netherlands, for example, made it clear that they are ready to support the shooting down of aircraft in the event of an invasion of Alliance airspace.

“The Russians should be aware that this could happen if they fly into NATO airspace,” Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said.

Russian drone flights have also highlighted problems with NATO’s eastern flank defense. For example, in Romania, a Russian drone was in the country’s airspace for 50 minutes, but F-16 fighters did not shoot it down due to the risk of falling debris. Such actions of the military have drawn sharp criticism.

“When it comes to your own security, the most important thing is to show those who test you that you are capable of defending your airspace. Your trust is at stake,” said former Romanian President Traian Basescu.

Bucharest has now approved new rules for the use of weapons to destroy enemy drones. The country recognizes that shooting down drones with missiles from aircraft is very expensive and ineffective, and modern anti-drone systems and electronic warfare means are needed.

Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which triggers consultations due to a threat, has been invoked only nine times since the alliance was founded in 1949 – and twice this month, after incidents in Poland and Estonia. On Wednesday, Danish authorities said they could do the same over suspected Russian involvement in drone attacks that disrupted air traffic, although the Kremlin again denied involvement.

Meanwhile, in the past few weeks, there has been an increase in the activity of Russian drones and aircraft in EU countries. For example, in France, mysterious drone activity was recorded in the sky over the Murmelon-le-Grand military base . However, the origin of the drones has not yet been established.

On the evening of September 25, Russian aircraft were flying over the Baltic Sea. Hungarian fighter jets intercepted five Russian aircraft at once .

It should be noted that earlier this day,four Russian planes flew into the air defense zone near Alaska . They were intercepted.

The day before, Estonia said that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace and stayed there for 12 minutes.