Two U.S. lawmakers have made a bipartisan appeal to President Joe Biden to allow Poland to shoot down Russian missiles over the skies of Ukraine, The Hill reported on Oct. 30.
Republican Joe Wilson and Steve Cohen, the chair and ranking member respectively of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, made the call in a letter seen by the news outlet.
"Despite Russia’s continued escalation through hybrid warfare — airspace violations, attacks on critical infrastructure, and efforts to destabilize democratic institutions — we have hesitated to confront these threats decisively, allowing Russia to wage a war against the alliance with minimal consequences," they said.
"In this context, Poland’s request to intercept and neutralize missiles over Ukraine is both necessary and urgent as a support mechanism for Ukraine and a safeguard to the frontline of NATO’s borders."
The possibility of Warsaw downing Russian missiles heading toward Poland through Ukraine was laid out in June in a signed Polish-Ukrainian security agreement.
While Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at the time that the matter was still under discussion, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz explained that a decision by all of NATO's member states would be necessary to take this step.
Then-NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg opposed the move, insisting the alliance "will not be involved in this conflict."
Stoltenberg's successor, Mark Rutte, has yet to address the topic publicly.
Sikorski revisited the issue in September when he said he was in favor of shooting down Russian missiles in Poland, warning of a potential nuclear disaster
He said Poland has the legal right to down stray Russian missiles and drones that enter Polish airspace.
"Russia can no longer...dictate to us how we defend our own country. We have both a constitution and recognized in international law to defend our airspace," Sikorski said.
He warned that a Russian missile could hit a Ukrainian nuclear power plant, referencing the Chornobyl disaster of 1986 that leaked radiation across Ukraine and Belarus. A similar nuclear disaster could also impact Poland.
"I think we should help Ukraine to protect its nuclear power plants against such stray Russian missiles," he said.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
