 "Nato countries should shoot down Russian aircraft breaching their airspace, says Trump")
Amid growing Russian incursions, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Nato members should shoot down Russian aircraft breaching their airspace.
In an interaction with the media during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that he believes Nato members should shoot down Russian aircraft breaching their airspace but said US military involvement in such shootdowns will depend on circumstances.
REPORTER: Do you think that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 23, 2025
TRUMP: Yes I do pic.twitter.com/ivS7vkW22d
In recent weeks, Poland, Romania, Estonia, and Denmark have said that Russia breached their airspace with drones and fighter planes. In the most serious case, Poland said it shot down Russian drones earlier this month when at least 19 Russian drones entered its airspace.
In the latest case, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen blamed Russia for drone sightings above the airport in her country's capital Copenhagen on Monday. She called it the “most serious attack so far against Danish critical infrastructure”.
“We do not yet know all the details, but it is clear that this fits into the pattern we have seen recently: Russian airspace violations, unwanted drone activity in several other European countries — in Poland, Romania, and Estonia, and last night also in Norway,” said Frederiksen in the statement.
| Country | Date(s) | Russian Aircraft Involved | Intruding Aircraft Count | Details of Incursion & Actions Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 19 September | MiG-31 fighter jets | 3 | Three MiG-31s entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland and lingered for 12 minutes. Italian F-35s (NATO Baltic Air Policing) intercepted, escorted jets out; Estonian, Swedish, and Finnish aircraft were also scrambled. Estonia has reported four such violations in 2025. |
| Poland | 9–10 September | Unspecified drones | At least 19 | At least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace; Polish/NATO air assets shot some drones down. Poland invoked NATO Article 4 consultations after the incident. |
| Romania | 13 September | Unspecified drone | 1 | Romanian F-16s and German/Eurofighter jets were scrambled after a Russian drone crossed into national airspace (approx. 50 minutes); the drone left Romanian airspace and returned to Ukraine—no shootdown was attempted due to risk of collateral damage. |
| Denmark | 22–23 September | Suspected large drones (likely Russian origin) | 2–3 | Copenhagen Airport shut after 2–3 unidentified large drones violated Danish airspace, causing over 30 diverted flights. Russian involvement is suspected; incident under investigation. |
| Baltic Sea | 21 September | IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft | 1 | German and Swedish jets intercepted a Russian IL-20M reconnaissance plane over international airspace in the Baltic Sea (not a direct airspace violation, but tracked closely in context of heightened tensions). |
Trump supports downing Russian aircraft, doesn’t commit US efforts
In yet another display of his patchy approach to Russian aggression, Trump said that while Nato members should shoot down Russian aircraft in their territory, the US support would not be assured. He said it would depend on circumstances.
However, Trump did not categorically rule out US backing, but avoided answering it further. Instead, he praised Nato members for stepping up defence spending at his instance and committing to spend up to 5 per cent of their GDP on defence.
In recent incursions, even as Nato members like Italy, Sweden, and Finland scrambled their fighter planes to support host nations in tackling Russian incursions, and the United Kingdom committed fighter planes to the Nato air defence mission in Poland, American fighter planes have been absent from any such air defence operation.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsSuch an absence has come amid belief that Trump may no longer believe in the longstanding US commitment to the collective security principle of Nato — the basis of the alliance. Additionally, Trump has also never clearly said he would provide an American backstop to any European force in Ukraine, bolstering such a belief.
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