If Russian military aircraft violate NATO airspace, alliance members should shoot them down. U.S. President Donald Trump said this, reports “Adyrna,” citing DW.
On September 23, during the UN General Assembly in New York, journalists asked Trump whether the U.S. was ready to assist its allies in such a situation.
“It depends on the situation,” Trump replied briefly.
At a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the White House leader noted that the war between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely to end soon.
“Right now, Russia’s economy is in dire condition. Ukraine is doing a very good job holding back this massive army,” he said.
For his part, Zelensky said that in the past month Ukrainian forces had liberated 360 square kilometers of territory and encircled nearly a thousand Russian troops. Kyiv plans to later exchange them for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
As a reminder, earlier NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte explained how alliance members make decisions in cases of airspace violations.
“Decisions regarding aircraft, including whether to shoot them down, are made depending on the situation. In doing so, we take into account the threat they pose to our forces, civilians, and infrastructure,” Rutte said.
