NATO allies accused Russia at the United Nations on Monday (September 22) of violating the alliance's airspace in Estonia and Poland -- actions that Britain said risked triggering an armed conflict. Confronting Russia at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Your reckless actions risk direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia. Our alliance is defensive but be under no illusion we stand ready to defend NATO's skies and NATO's territory." The Security Council convened on Monday to discuss the issue. NATO consultations were due to take place on Tuesday. The incident occurred just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting NATO jets to shoot some of them down. Cooper's comments were echoed by other Western ministers in the Security Council, with Poland’s foreign affairs minister saying that the country will shoot down if any Russian jet enters its airspace again. Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmytry Polyanskiy, said there was no evidence backing their claims and accused European powers of levying baseless accusations.
