Czech President Calls for Shooting Down of Russian Military Planes

Czech President Petr Pavel has called for shooting down of Russian military planes if they violate NATO airspace.

According to him, such actions exacerbate tensions in Europe and, therefore, it is necessary to send a signal to the Russian Federation that they are unacceptable. He noted that the allies must react accordingly, specifying that this includes military measures.

,,I have to call Moscow’s behavior extremely irresponsible, because the violation of airspace is a pretext for activating defense mechanisms and, as a result, the destruction of such an aircraft. And no one, neither we nor Russia, would want that”, he said.

On September 19, NATO spokeswoman Alison Arth accused Russia of invading Estonian airspace.

A number of leaders of allied countries condemned Russia’s actions. European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas said the Tallinn government had requested consultations with NATO under Article 4 of the treaty.

In response, the Russian Defense Ministry explained that three MiG-31 aircraft were indeed on a scheduled flight from Karelia to the Kaliningrad region. However, the flight continued as planned, the aircraft did not deviate from their course and did not violate the airspace of other countries, as confirmed by objective monitoring.

The flight route passed over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, more than three kilometers from the Estonian island of Vaindlo.