Britain on Monday summoned the Russian ambassador in London following Moscow’s “unprecedented violation” of NATO airspace, as the UK announced it would send fighter jets to help defend Polish airspace.
The Foreign Office called the incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace in the past week “unacceptable” and summoned Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin.
“Significant and unprecedented violation of Polish and NATO airspace by Russian drones last week, followed by a further incursion into Romanian airspace on Saturday, was utterly unacceptable,” the office said in a statement.
Photo: AP
“Russia should understand that its continued aggression only strengthens the unity between NATO allies and our determination to stand with Ukraine, and any further incursions will again be met with force,” the statement said.
“Russia must end its illegal war on Ukraine,” it said.
“The UK stands united with Poland, Romania, Ukraine and our NATO allies in unreservedly condemning these reckless actions,” it added.
Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday last week in what European officials described as a provocation, causing NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down.
Russia said Poland was not targeted, and Moscow’s ally Belarus said the drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders have expressed certainty that the incursion was deliberate, underlining long-held concerns about the expansion of Russia’s more than three-year war in Ukraine.
Polish airspace has been violated several times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but there has been nothing on the scale of last week’s violations in Poland or in any other NATO nation.
Romania on Saturday said that it deployed two F-16 jets to intercept a drone that briefly entered its airspace.
The nation’s defense ministry said the drone did not fly over inhabited areas and did not represent an imminent danger to the public.
Britain’s military on Monday said that Royal Air Force fighter jets would join several other European nations in air-defense missions over Poland.
The British Ministry of Defence said that the Typhoon jets would join planes from Denmark, France and Germany in the mission, dubbed Eastern Sentry, which involves extra European fighter jets, a warship and air-defense systems, along with existing air policing and ground defenses.
“Russia’s reckless behavior is a direct threat to European security and a violation of international law, which is why the UK will support NATO’s efforts to bolster its eastern flank through Eastern Sentry,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
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