WARSAW
Moscow should not complain if its aircraft or drones are shot down if they enter Polish airspace, the nation’s foreign minister said Monday, referring to several alleged Russian drones downed in Polish territory earlier this month.
“If another missile or other object were to enter our airspace, whether intentionally or accidentally, and if it were shot down and the debris fell on NATO territory, don’t come here to complain. You’ve been warned,” Radoslaw Sikorski told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.
Sikorski also mentioned three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that allegedly entered Estonian airspace without its permission, a week after the drone incident. “If these were incidents, why not admit to them and apologize right away?” he said. “We have already forgiven Russia for such incidents in the past, but we have heard no apologies, only lies.”
“These airspace violations are suspicious because they constitute an escalation of the hybrid war that Russia has been waging against the West for years,” he said, claiming Moscow’s involvement in assassinations of politicians, journalists, and human rights defenders; cyberattacks; arson cases in various European countries; and attacks on Ukrainian embassies.
“The UN Security Council has the responsibility to send a clear message that such provocations will not be tolerated … I will say to the Russian representatives: We know you don’t care about international law and are incapable of living in peace with your neighbors,” Sikorski added.
He claimed that Moscow’s “mad nationalism” includes a “need for domination,” and that “this will not end until you realize that the imperial era is over, and your empire will not be rebuilt.”
Referring to separatist efforts in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and the Russian-Ukraine war since February 2022, Sikorski said: “Your three-day ‘special military operation’ has not even been able to conquer Donbas for 10 years.”
“In 1914, you hastened the outbreak of World War I, which led to your Bolshevik Revolution. By signing the (1939) pact between Stalin and Hitler, you hastened the outbreak of World War II, and by Sovietizing Eastern Europe, you sparked the Cold War. Do not start another war,” he warned.
Earlier Monday, Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said: “Three armed MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace. They entered 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into it and flew over 100 kilometers (62.1 mi) over our sovereign territory.”
The Security Council meeting was convened at Estonia’s request by South Korea, which took over the council presidency in September. Participating were the foreign ministers of Poland, Estonia, the UK, France, Germany, and Ukraine, as well as Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief.
President Donald Trump said Sunday he would help defend Poland and the Baltic states, which neighbor Russian, if the alleged incursions escalate. Lithuania, Estonia, and the Czech Republic have called on NATO to consider tougher measures.
Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a statement at a meeting of the Russian Security Council saying: “As a result of the highly destructive actions previously undertaken by Western countries, the foundations of constructive relations and practical cooperation between states possessing nuclear weapons have been seriously undermined.”
According to Putin, “the basis for dialogue” has been disrupted, and “the system of Soviet-American and Russian-American agreements on nuclear missile arms control and strategic defense systems has been dismantled.”
