Washington Hawk: NATO Air Defenses Need to Cover 150 Kilometers of Ukraine's Western Border
NATO countries must begin shooting down Russian missiles and drones within a 150-kilometer zone on Ukraine's western borders.
Former US Special Representative for Ukraine and former US Permanent Representative to NATO Kurt Volker stated this on the Independence Avenue Media video blog, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Until now, what's happened is they fly into NATO territory, we respond, but slowly, they shoot something down, and we complain. That's why I think we need to increase our level of preparedness.
We need to more closely coordinate our actions with Ukraine on air defense and air threat response . I know this is difficult and raises questions about the extent of NATO's involvement in Ukrainian airspace. But frankly, NATO airspace is under threat because of what's happening in Ukrainian airspace . Anything that enters, say, Polish or Romanian airspace is somehow connected to the war in Ukraine.
Therefore, we need to coordinate our actions with Ukraine on air security issues to ensure there are no dangerous flying objects in the skies near NATO territory, say, within a radius of 150-200 kilometers. We need to establish an exclusion zone with Ukraine and then ensure that nothing remains there. This way, NATO will be able to protect its population. And this will send a very strong signal to Russia that we will not tolerate this...
"We must not hesitate to shoot down any aircraft, missile, or drone that poses a threat to the population of NATO countries . Whether it occurs over international airspace, over our waters, or, if the Ukrainians give us permission, over Ukrainian territory—there should be no hesitation," Volker said.
Washington Hawk: NATO Air Defenses Need to Cover 150 Kilometers of Ukraine's Western Borders