Europe considers Sky Shield initiative to shoot down Russian targets over Ukraine, - Le Monde
Western officials support the Sky Shield initiative, which involves intercepting Russian drones and missiles in the skies over western Ukraine.
This was reported by the French newspaper Le Monde, according to Censor.NET.
The publication writes that after the incident with Russian drones in Poland, European countries are increasingly aware of the need to change their defence strategy. Le Monde notes that the idea is to intercept Russian targets in Ukrainian airspace before they reach European borders, while protecting the population of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Sky Shield initiative is in line with this approach. It involves shooting down Russian missiles and drones over Ukrainian airspace.
"120 Allied aircraft would be sufficient to accomplish this task," the newspaper writes.
At the same time, as the publication notes, such actions cannot be considered an act of aggression against Russia, since international conventions on humanitarian protection, nuclear safety and civil aviation fully justify them.
"Defending Ukraine's western territories will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to focus on the eastern front, help strengthen the country's economy and nuclear safety, boost the morale of the population and ensure the growth of Ukrainian defence production," the article says.
According to the publication, such actions will also help make Russia more inclined to negotiate a ceasefire.
Russian drone invasion of Poland
As a reminder, the Ukrainian Air Force reported at least 8 Russian drones that flew into Poland.
It is known that one of the drones hit a residential building in Poland.
Polish Prime Minister Tusk stated that a total of 19 targets crossed into Poland, with four drones shot down.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, for its part, claimed that the Russian army had not planned to target Polish facilities, though it did not deny the possibility of drones entering Polish territory.
Several foreign diplomats and senior NATO officials, including Secretary General Mark Rutte, have reacted to the incident.
The number of recorded Russian drones that crossed the Polish border on the night of September 10 has increased to 21.
