NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has rejected Poland’s idea to shoot down Russian missiles and drones flying in its direction over Ukraine, Babel reports.
In an interview at a telethon, Stoltenberg said that the allies have strengthened Ukraine’s defense against air attacks by providing additional air defense, but will not be directly involved in the war.
NATO will support Ukraine, and we have now increased our support, in particular with air defense… But NATO’s policy is unchanged – we will not participate in this conflict, we will not become part of this conflict, – the Alliance Secretary General said.
He added that NATO supports Ukraine in destroying Russian aircraft, but the Alliance will not be directly involved.
The possibility of intercepting missiles flying in the direction of Poland was included in the July 8 security agreement between Ukraine and Poland. The text referred to “a bilateral dialogue with other partners aimed at exploring the rationale and feasibility of possible interception of missiles in Ukrainian airspace.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk explained that the document spelled out “the need for such a conversation” and noted that such actions “require joint NATO responsibility.” On July 10, Poland’s defense minister said that no missiles would be shot down without a NATO-wide decision.
