More and more voices in NATO say that a decision must be made to shoot down Russian missiles or drones approaching Allied borders, but experts say that such a measure must be carefully thought out in order not to provoke the Kremlin, but also to put point an impenetrable anti-aircraft system.
PHOTO Romanian Air Force/ Bogdan Aaron PANTILIMON
After more than 760 days of war in Ukraine, NATO is reportedly considering the option of shooting down Russian missiles or drones if they come too close to its borders. At least this is what Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said, and the solution is also supported by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. Rear Admiral Constantin Ciorobea explained to “Adevărul” how NATO could act.
Poland was forced to mobilize its fighter jets to protect its airspace during Russia’s drone and missile attack against Ukraine on March 24, when a Russian cruise missile entered Polish airspace for 39 seconds . Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreev, was summoned by Poland’s Foreign Ministry in response to the incident, but declined the request.
Andrzej Szejna stated that “Russia knew that if the missile transited any longer over Polish territory, it would have been shot down. There would have been a counterattack”. “Various concepts are under consideration within NATO, including that such missiles be shot down when they are very close to the NATO border,” he added. Such a proposal should be approved by the Ukrainian side, Szejna said.
Russian missiles have previously entered Polish airspace during attacks on Ukraine. On December 29, 2023, a missile entered Polish airspace, putting the country’s defenses on high alert. In another incident, on 15 November 2022, a missile entered Polish territory during a mass attack by Russia, killing two civilians. Polish investigators later concluded that it was a missile fired by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft system, launched to intercept the Russian attack.
Even Romania was not spared from such incidents after three Shahed-136/131 drones crashed near the border with Ukraine.
We have what
According to some military sources, MApN has the necessary systems to detect and destroy aerial targets that could reach the territory of Romania, but we are talking about a political decision at NATO level, claims Rear Admiral (r) Dr. Constantin Ciorobea, ex-deputy head of the Operations Section information from the NATO Command in Italy.
“As far as I know, it is desired that the targets be shot down until they reach NATO territory, at 50 kilometers, for example. That is, either over the Black Sea, or when flying over Ukraine. It will be a kind of adapted air police. Of course, Ukraine still has to agree, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t. However, my opinion is that such a decision to involve NATO in combating air targets will not be taken too quickly. And here we have two reasons. First of all, it is a political decision, because such a measure can be interpreted by the Kremlin as an involvement of NATO in the conflict. Then such a measure must be carefully prepared. It is about the credibility of NATO. You can’t say you shoot down everything that comes your way and miss a target like that. You can’t afford a miss. So air defense on the eastern flank needs to be thought through carefully if you announce such a measure. Anyway, it should be noted that such an anti-aircraft system will have a centralized NATO command, it will not act on national orders, whether we are talking about some from Romania or Poland. Any decision will be taken at the Alliance level”said rear admiral Constantin Ciorobea.
