Poland has “constitutional duty” to shoot down Russian missiles and drones over Ukraine in defense measure – Polish FM

Poland has a responsibility to shoot down any Russian missiles or attack drones that are headed toward its territory over Ukraine.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said this in an interview with the Financial Times.

"Membership in NATO does not cancel the responsibility of each country to protect its airspace; it is our constitutional duty. My personal opinion is that when enemy missiles are on a course towards our airspace, it would be an act of legitimate self-defense [shooting them down in the airspace of Ukraine – ed.] because when they cross our airspace, the risk of injuring someone with shrapnel is significant," Sikorski emphasized.

The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs strongly emphasized the right to intercept Russian missiles in Ukrainian airspace following an alleged violation of Polish airspace by a Russian drone on August 26, which is currently under investigation.

The Polish minister emphasized that the likelihood of casualties in Poland rises as the air defense system gets closer to intercepting the missile. Therefore, shooting it down at a significant altitude above Ukraine is preferable.

Sikorski mentioned that Ukrainians support the idea.

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs's stance contrasts with that of the Ministry of National Defense. Specifically, Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski stated after an informal meeting of the EU Council of Defense Ministers in Brussels on August 30 that Poland would not use its air defense to shoot down Russian missiles or attack drones over Ukraine's territory. The Polish government representative emphasized that EU and NATO nations "are not parties to this war." Therefore, Poland is in favor of bolstering Ukraine's defense capabilities.

Zalewski made it clear that Warsaw is not considering the option of shooting down Russian missiles or drones from Polish territory in any format, particularly in a bilateral manner.

Also, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that aerial objects from Ukraine are not shot down over Poland, because it is impossible to check whether it is a civilian object, because aerial objects fly by in a fraction of a second.

For reference:

As Rubryka reported, according to the data of the Kyiv City Military Administration, on the morning of September 2, air defense destroyed more than ten cruise missiles and about ten ballistic missiles, as well as an attack drone, in the capital's airspace.

President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that some neighboring countries, in particular Poland, could shoot down Russian missiles in western Ukraine.

During a recent visit to Kyiv, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, stated that NATO does not yet have a common opinion on the shooting down of Russian missiles by means of the Alliance countries over the territory of Ukraine. Still, they can reach an agreement on this matter.

According to the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces, on August 26, a Russian drone entered Poland from Chervonohrad, located in the Lviv region, during Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine. The Polish air defense system detected it on radar for approximately thirty minutes. The search for the drone is ongoing in the Lublin Voivodeship. Before this incident, there were multiple instances of Russian missiles violating the airspace of the Republic of Poland during the missile attacks on Ukraine.