Several nations have threatened to shoot down Moscow’s military aircraft if they enter the bloc’s airspace
Most Germans would oppose NATO shooting down Russian military aircraft if they enter the bloc’s airspace, a new survey has suggested. Several NATO members, including Poland and the UK, have previously threatened to do so.
Some 67% of respondents said they were against striking Russian jets, according to a poll conducted by the Forsa market research company for Stern magazine. Only 24% of those polled favored the option. Supporters of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc were the most hawkish, with 35% approving of the measure. Among the backers of other major parties, support barely exceeded 20%.
The survey was conducted by phone on September 25-26 and included 1,001 respondents.
The issue gained traction among NATO leaders following incidents the bloc blamed on Russia. Estonia claimed Russian aircraft briefly violated its airspace in mid-September, while Poland earlier alleged that multiple Russian decoy drones had entered its territory. Moscow denied the claims in both cases.
Poland and the UK then threatened to shoot down Russian aircraft if they entered NATO airspace “without permission.” Lithuania’s defense minister also urged NATO to take such action. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the option was “on the table,” while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that decisions are made “in real time” and on a case-by-case basis.
Moscow responded by saying that NATO members had failed to produce any substantial evidence for their accusations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also slammed what he called “reckless and irresponsible” threats by bloc members in the wake of the incidents.
Shooting down a Russian military aircraft would trigger a “war” between Moscow and NATO, Russia’s envoy to France, Aleksey Meshkov, warned. He added that “quite a lot” of NATO planes violate Russian airspace, yet none are shot down.
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