Warsaw is considering Kyiv's proposal to shoot down Russian missiles heading toward Polish territory while they are still in Ukrainian airspace.
This was stated by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, RBC-Ukraine reports citing the BBC.
According to him, this proposal was included in the joint defense agreement between the two countries, signed during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Warsaw earlier this week.
"At this stage, it is an idea. Our agreement says that we will explore this idea," Sikorsky said at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
He specifically recalled instances when some Russian missiles fired from the St. Petersburg area at Ukrainian targets near the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, close to the Polish border, crossed Belarus and entered Polish airspace for about 40 seconds before returning to their targets back in Ukraine. He also acknowledged that such a short period gave Warsaw little time to react. However, the proposal would theoretically cover any missile traveling through western Ukraine toward Poland.
"Our dilemma is this. If we shoot them down only when they enter our airspace, the debris poses a threat to our citizens," Sikorsky said.-
However, he notes that Ukrainians would not mind if Poland shot down missiles over their territory. In his opinion, this can be considered "self-defense," but it is currently only an idea that is being studied.
Sikorski also recalled that in December 2022, a Russian missile landed near his home in Bydgoszcz, about 500 kilometers from the Belarusian border, without causing any harm. A month earlier, two Polish citizens were killed by falling debris when Ukraine shot down a Russian missile near the Polish border.
Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 13/07/2024