Von der Leyen does not rule out the possibility of shooting down Russian aircraft that violate NATO airspace
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes that after a clear warning, the option of shooting down Russian fighter jets that violate NATO airspace is possible.
She stated this in an interview with CNN, according to Censor.NET.
"In my opinion, we must defend every square centimeter of territory. And that means that if there is an intrusion into our airspace, then - of course, after a very clear warning - the option of shooting down such a fighter jet is ‘on the table’," she said.
As a reminder, on September 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets flew into Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission and stayed there for 12 minutes.
The head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, condemned the violation of Estonian airspace by three Russian fighter jets.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on EU leaders to approve the 19th package of sanctions against Russia as soon as possible.
Due to the incident, Estonia asked for NATO's advice.
In turn, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that their MiGs allegedly "did not violate" Estonian airspace.
Estonian Foreign Minister Tsahkna presented evidence of Russian aircraft violating Estonian airspace to the UN Security Council.
