"Responsible for escalation": NATO explained whether Poland could be knocked down by Russian missiles

If a member of the Alliance wants to counteract the means of defeat over its territory, then first consultations with other members of the community should be started, NATO Dakhalall's spokeswoman said. NATO invites Member States to remember the threat of escalation if they start knocking down missiles over their territory. On the other hand, the armed forces of the Allies really have the right to protect the airspace. The Alliance was told by the Europa Press.

Journalists spoke with the spokesman of NATO Farah Dakhlalalah, according to Europa Press. According to her, in the North Atlantic Alliance, "every ally has the right to defend its own airspace" and knock down the goals that find themselves in their territory. At the same time, the spokeswoman stressed that in this case, an "escalation" is possible and it should be remembered when deciding.

She reminded that the Alliance is not and would not be a "conflict" side and does not plan to be involved in it. "NATO is responsible for preventing further escalation of the Russian war. NATO is not a party to the conflict and will not become . . . That is why the Allies need to continue close consultations within the Alliance," the journalists of the Alliance spokesman.

It should be noted that on the night of August 26, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched more than 230 means of defeat-missiles of different types and drones-Kamikadze "Shahaned". Poland's air defense forces noticed how one air target crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border: they monitored it, but did not knock it down. Among the reasons that did not allow it to do it are unfavorable weather conditions, representatives of the military said.

At the same time, Polish Defense Minister Radoslav Sikorsky stated in an interview with The Financial Times that his country's armed forces were obliged to knock down Russian missiles and drones. In his opinion, this duty does not contradict the requirements of the Alliance, since it is about protecting its own airspace. Within a few hours the reaction of the Russian Federation appeared: Russian officials threatened that there would be a "rigid answer".

Earlier, Focus talked about a dozen incidents when the X-101 missiles flew into Poland, for example. In the winter of 2023, one such rocket circulated around a military base, then returned to Ukraine and exploded over the Lviv region. In the early days of the invasion, the Russian rocket flew over Warsaw: it was not knocked down, and it disappeared from the radars and fell in the forests. We remind that on September 2, Russia launched Iskander and X-101 missiles in Ukraine, the air force reported.