Members of the US House of Representatives, Republican Joe Wilson and Democrat Steve Cohen, called on President Joe Biden to allow NATO ally Poland to shoot down Russian missiles in the skies over Ukraine under the pretext of self-defense. The Hill reports this.
The lawmakers sent a letter to Biden asking him to “grant Poland the authority to intercept and neutralize missiles over Ukraine, especially those that threaten to invade Polish airspace,” the newspaper writes.
The request is based on Poland’s desire to use and possibly expand its air defense to cover its own skies from Russian missiles, as well as assist Ukraine, according to the note.
“Despite Russia’s continued escalation through hybrid warfare (air breaches, attacks on critical infrastructure, and efforts to destabilize democratic institutions), we hesitate to decisively confront these threats, allowing Russia to wage war against the alliance with consequences.” minimal. In this context, Poland’s request to intercept and neutralize missiles over Ukraine is necessary and urgent as a mechanism to support Ukraine and ensure security on the front line of NATO borders.” Wilson and Cohen wrote.
This plan was proposed in September in an interview with the Financial Times by the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry. Radoslaw Sikorskinotes the publication.
US Secretary of State Antonio Blinken He then stated that this issue was part of the discussions between NATO allies, and the then Secretary General of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg rejected this proposal, saying that NATO would risk “becoming part of the conflict.” His successor Marcos Ruttewho took office in October, has not yet addressed this issue.
Closing the skies over Ukraine to Russian missiles is one of the biggest problems during the conflict, which began in February 2022, the magazine highlights.
