NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg opposed a proposal to shoot down Russian missiles flying toward Poland over Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities came up with this idea earlier, and the Polish government said it was considering such an option.
On Sunday evening, Ukrainian television "Marathon" showed an interview with Stoltenberg in which the NATO Secretary General was asked about the proposal.
He responded by saying: "NATO policy remains unchanged. We will not participate in this conflict, we will not be part of the conflict. So we support Ukraine in destroying the Russian planes, but NATO will not be directly involved.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Szykorski said this week during a speech in Washington that Warsaw is considering whether to back Kiev's idea, which is enshrined in a security agreement recently signed between the two countries.
"It's just an idea at this stage. It is written in our agreement that we will consider it," said Sikorski.
Poland's foreign minister noted that some Russian missiles fired from the St. Petersburg region at targets near Lviv flew through Belarus, entered Polish airspace for 40 seconds, and then turned toward Ukraine.
Sikorsky said that was not enough time for Polish air defenses to react, but Kiev's proposal could theoretically affect all Russian missiles flying towards Poland through western Ukraine.
"Our country is on the front line, and Russian missiles are violating our airspace. "We think this is being done by mistake," Sikorsky said. - "Our dilemma is this: if we shoot them down only when they enter our space, the debris will endanger our citizens and property.
"But the Ukrainians say: "Please, we don't mind, do it in our airspace when there is an imminent danger of them crossing into Polish territory". It seems to me that it's self-defense, but we're looking into the idea," Sikorsky added.