Pentagon opposes NATO shooting down Russian projectiles over Ukraine

„The North Atlantic Alliance countries will not shoot down missiles and drones over Ukrainian territory because it could result in them being drawn into a war with Russia” – Pentagon officials stated.

Kharkiv, Ukraine – civilian infrastructure destroyed by Russian missiles and dronesPAP/Mykola Kalyeniak

The deputy spokeswoman of the US Department of Defense, Sabrina Singh, said that the help of allies in shooting down enemy drones over Israel and performing adequate actions in Ukraine are „two very different landscapes and battlefields”.

Singh added that shooting down Russian missiles from the territory of Romania or Poland would mean the involvement of Western countries in the war.

„We see that Ukraine is able to effectively defend itself against Russian attacks on its cities, population and infrastructure. We will continue to provide it with the necessary support” – the Pentagon representative declared.

Numerous social media users were infuriated by these words – as contrary to Pentagon official’s declaration a number of Ukrainian cities have been razed to the ground by Russian shells, bombs, missiles and drones since February 2022.

Also, despite Ukraine’s best efforts, its civilian casualties and infrastructural damages continue to amass daily due to Russia’s vicious aerial attacks on non-military targets. Meanwhile, NATO’s support for Ukraine’s defensive capabilities regularly falls into the „too little, too late” category to prevent this – as Kyiv regularly points out.

Due to that fact, Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to neighbouring countries for help in shooting down Russian missiles and drones entering its airspace and approaching NATO’s western borders.

On Thursday, at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutt, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv will continue to convince its partners of the need to shoot down Russian drones and missiles. He added that decisions on this matter are needed now, before winter arrives. Rutte noted that such decisions are made by the authorities of specific NATO countries.

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Source: IAR

Radio Poland