The British government summoned the Russian ambassador on Monday, September 15th, strongly condemning the infringement of NATO airspace by Russian military drones and warning that such provocation is “completely unacceptable.” The UK emphasized that if Russia violates NATO airspace again, it will respond with force.
NATO allies Poland and Romania have recently experienced consecutive incidents of Russian drone infringement in their airspace: On the night of September 9th, 19 to 23 Russian drones entered eastern Polish airspace and were shot down by the Polish military on the morning of September 10th at 6:45. Following the incident, Poland accepted NATO’s deployment of the “Operation Eastern Sentry” to strengthen defense on the eastern flank of Europe and requested NATO to activate Article 4 of collective defense.
On September 13th, during Russian attacks in southeastern Ukraine, a drone entered Romanian airspace. The Romanian Ministry of Defense promptly dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to intercept and issued evacuation alerts to residents near the border in the Tulcea region. The Russian military drone was eventually shot down and entered Ukrainian airspace.
These events have raised serious concerns within NATO. The UK Foreign Office summoned the Russian ambassador on September 15th, emphasizing that Russia’s actions are “reckless and entirely unacceptable,” and receiving unanimous condemnation from NATO allies.
The statement pointed out, “The significant and unprecedented violations of Polish and NATO airspace by Russian drones last week, as well as the further incursion into Romanian airspace on Saturday, are completely unacceptable.”
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office stated, “Russia should understand that its continued aggression only strengthens the unity among NATO allies and our determination to support Ukraine. Any further acts of invasion will be met with a military response. Russia must end its illegal war on Ukraine.”
The Russian Embassy in London has not issued a comment yet.
Russia recently stated that it had no intention to attack Poland. Its ally Belarus claimed that the drones deviated from their route due to electronic interference, leading to inadvertent entry into Polish and NATO airspace.
However, European leaders widely condemned the invasion as deliberate action.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that Russia’s actions pose a direct threat to European security and blatantly violate international law. He has sent fighter jets to Poland to carry out the Eastern Sentry mission, enhancing defense and deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank.
Starmer stated, “Deploying fighter jets is crucial to preventing aggression, safeguarding NATO airspace, and protecting the national security of the UK and its allies. The UK will continue to steadfastly support Ukraine and increase pressure on Putin until a just and lasting peace is achieved.”
Furthermore, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski urged NATO to consider establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect European airspace from Russian drone attacks. However, due to the potential for direct conflict with Russia, this proposal has not gained widespread support.
(This article references reports from Reuters and the Associated Press)