BRUSSELS — NATO acted “quickly and decisively” in response to several recent airspace violations by Russia, alliance chief Mark Rutte said Tuesday, batting away criticism that the organization is ill-equipped to deal with growing provocations from Moscow.
On Friday, the alliance scrambled several fighter jets after three Russian MiG-31 aircraft entered Estonian airspace for 12 minutes. Earlier this month, Moscow also sent drones into Poland and Romania.
“We have all the defensive systems in place to make sure that we can defend every inch of allied territory,” Rutte told reporters. “That’s what we have shown both in the Polish case as well as in the Estonian case.”
Alliance members met Tuesday after Estonia invoked NATO’s Article 4, triggering urgent consultations among allies.
In a statement published after the meeting, NATO ambassadors said they would “not be deterred by these and other irresponsible acts by Russia from their enduring commitments to support Ukraine.”
“Russia should be in no doubt: NATO and Allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves,” the statement added.
The meeting also came after Norway and Denmark detected drones in their airspace on Monday night, prompting airports in Oslo and Copenhagen to temporarily shut down. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday she “cannot rule out” Russia’s involvement, an accusation the Kremlin rejected.
In repose to the Russian drones in Poland, Rutte announced the launch of the Eastern Sentry mission to bolster defenses on the alliance’s eastern flank.
That incident, which saw multimillion-euro NATO jets shoot down cut-price drones made of wood and foam, has triggered criticism that the alliance is unprepared for growing aerial threats and Moscow’s low-cost warfare — at least economically.
Rutte said the alliance was actively working to fix that problem. “One of the reasons why we launched Eastern Sentry,” he said, is “it is not sustainable to take down … a let’s say, $1,000 or $2,000-costing drone, [with] a half a million or a million [dollar]-costing missile.”
Meanwhile, the incidents have prompted some NATO allies to issue unilateral warnings to Russia and search for new ways to shore up their defenses. Poland and Sweden this week said they would shoot down any Russian aircraft entering their territory, while Estonia has said it is ready to host British nuclear-capable fighter jets.
Russia insisted it is doing nothing wrong.
“Allegations that our aircraft have allegedly violated airspace have never been substantiated by reliable data or convincing evidence,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, according to the government-controlled TASS news agency.
However, Rutte signaled the incidents would not lead to NATO overhauling its rules of military engagement with Russia.
“The decisions on whether to engage in shooting aircraft … are always based on available intelligence regarding the threat posed by the aircraft,” he said, arguing “no immediate threat” was detected in Estonia.
“But if necessary, you can be assured we will do what is necessary to defend our cities, our people, our infrastructure” he added.
The post NATO’s Rutte to Russia: We’re ready for you appeared first on Politico.
