Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Monday that the country will defend its airspace if any aircraft threaten its territory, according to state-run news channel TVP Info.
“We will make the decision to shoot down flying objects without hesitation when they threaten our territory and are flying over Poland. There’s nothing to debate in such cases,” Tusk reportedly said.
He added that in situations that are “not entirely clear,” such as when incidents occur outside Polish territory, the country will take a measured approach.
“When we’re dealing with less clear-cut situations — like the recent flight of Russian fighter jets over the Petrobaltic platform in the Baltic Sea, which didn’t involve a violation of Polish airspace because it’s not within our territorial waters — we have to think twice before taking actions that could escalate the conflict significantly,” Tusk told reporters.
The prime minister also emphasized that Poland is in constant contact with its allies and is prepared to “take whatever action is necessary to destroy any objects that may pose a threat to us.” He added:
But I need to be 100 percent sure that our allies will approach this the same way we do — that in a situation where the conflict escalates into a very sharp phase, we won’t be alone in it.
