Poland could cross NATO's red line by launching Russian missiles over Ukraine

Poland could cross a NATO red line if it shoots down Russian missiles over Ukraine that threaten its territory, the foreign minister said on Monday.

Warsaw claims that Russian missiles and drones have been fired at targets in Ukraine repeatedly during the course of the war, and that there was even a drone attack last week. This has led to a number of flashpoints and raised concerns about a direct clash between a NATO state and Russia.

Article 5 of the alliance obliges all member states – including Great Britain and the USA – to respond in the event of an attack on a member.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said his government had a “duty” to take action regardless of NATO's official stance against such a move, which it sees as direct involvement in the war in Ukraine.

“NATO membership does not remove each country’s responsibility to protect its own airspace – it is our own constitutional duty,” Sikorski said. Financial Times“I personally believe that it would be legitimate self-defense if enemy missiles were on their way into our airspace. [to strike them] Because once they enter our airspace, there is a significant risk that someone will be injured by debris.”

Ukraine has lobbied its allies to take a more active role in air defense throughout the war, a need that has intensified in recent months as stockpiles of interceptor missiles have been depleted by barrages of Russian airstrikes on cities and energy infrastructure.

Kyiv and Warsaw signed an agreement in July pledging to explore ways to “intercept missiles and drones launched in the direction of Polish territory in Ukrainian airspace.” Mr Sikorski said on Monday that Ukraine would “welcome” such a move.

Russian government officials reacted aggressively to the minister's comments. MP Viktor Vodolatsky accused Sikorski of “disgusting and fantastic statements” and added that “such people should not remain in the leadership of Poland.”

An editorial in a Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda – which President Vladimir Putin has described as his favourite newspaper – said the Polish proposal amounted to a “declaration of war”.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has ruled out the alliance's support in the launch of Russian missiles over Ukraine. “NATO will support Ukraine and we have recently increased our support. But NATO's policy remains unchanged – we will not participate in this conflict,” he said in July.

But influential figures are increasingly calling for a relaxation of this restriction. Former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen argued in an interview with I.

In May, Jukka Kopra, chairman of the Finnish parliamentary defence committee, suggested that NATO countries could protect Ukrainian airspace from outside the country.

Ihor Lutsenko, a former Ukrainian lawmaker who now serves in the military, said the need for air defense support has become more urgent as Russian attacks cause increasing damage.

“This could really make a big difference in the war,” he said Iwhich suggests that by protecting its borders, Poland could also protect areas in Western Ukraine.

“We need as much help as possible to protect against missile attacks. Russia's missile potential is growing, the precision of its attacks is increasing.”

Edward Hunter Christie, a former NATO official and now senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said the Polish proposal was practical and politically feasible.

“Poland has a mix of air defense systems, both short-range systems of Polish production and two American-made Patriot batteries. Poland could and would intercept Russian missiles entering Polish airspace at any time and without consulting its allies,” he said.

“The only difference is that the interception of Russian missiles heading towards Polish airspace would take place over Ukrainian airspace.”

Legally, Poland only needs Ukraine's consent, not NATO's, Christie said. And by only attacking unmanned systems such as drones and missiles, the risk of escalation through the death of Russian soldiers could be avoided.

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“I assume that the allies would accept this new policy if Warsaw implemented it and told them that this is the new normal,” he said. However, Poland would obviously prefer to have the US fully on its side and would also be willing to deploy US patriots in Poland to enforce the same policy line.

The practical impact of such a move on the war would be “positive and marginal” but would have symbolic power, Mr Christie added.

“It would be a signal, both within the alliance and to Russia, that NATO airspace is truly inviolable and that the allies can and will deploy interceptors for self-defence beyond their borders,” he said.

“That, in turn, would signal to Moscow that we are not overly afraid of defending ourselves. More specifically, Moscow would then be more likely to believe that we would not be afraid of shooting into their airspace if they launched an attack on NATO.”