NATO evaluating possibility of intercepting Russian missiles

The North Atlantic Alliance is considering the possibility of shooting down Russian missiles approaching the borders of NATO countries during Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Andrzej Shejna said in an interview with RMF24.

“In the Alliance, various concepts are being analyzed, including shooting down such missiles when they are very close to the borders of NATO. However, this should happen with the consent of the Ukrainian side and considering international consequences – then NATO missiles would hit Russian missiles outside their territory,” said Shejna.

After a recent event where a Russian missile entered Polish airspace on March 24, an analysis of potential responses commenced. The missile breached Poland’s border by 2 kilometers, traveling at nearly 800 kilometers per hour at a height of 400 meters. In total, it remained in Polish territory for 39 seconds.

“It was rather a deliberate act; Russia did not want to provoke anything. They knew that if the missile advanced further into Poland, it would be shot down. There would be a response. The plan was to test the strength of defense and the vigilance of the Polish armed forces,” said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland.

According to Shejna, Russia attempted to assess the robustness of the defense and alertness of the Polish Armed Forces. Nonetheless, the Kremlin is unable to dictate its terms to NATO. “The aggressor must get used to the fact that the NATO side, the side of democratic states, the EU will begin to set a certain tone when it comes to resolving the conflict in Ukraine,” said the Polish official.

Earlier, Russian missiles had already flown into Polish territory – on December 29, a missile flew about 40 kilometers across Polish territory but returned, and last year in April, remnants of a Kh-55 cruise missile were found near the city of Bydgoszcz.