Trump calls on NATO countries to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace!
US President Donald Trump said that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace, during his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Trump responded “yes” to a reporter’s question about whether NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft.
Trump’s position follows several recent violations of NATO airspace by fighter jets and drones, for which Moscow has been blamed.
Trump once again avoided answering questions about whether he believed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was ready to conclude a peace agreement.
Asked if he still trusted Putin, with whom he held a summit in Alaska last month, he said, “I’ll let you know in about a month”.
Trump has repeatedly set a two-week deadline to decide whether to impose new sanctions on Russia.
Trump, who had a televised debate with Zelensky in the Oval Office in February, said he had great respect for the fight that Ukraine is waging, describing it as “truly amazing”.
Zelensky thanked Trump for his personal efforts to stop this war and reiterated his US counterpart’s call for European countries to stop purchasing Russian oil.
Tensions between Russia and Europe over the war in Ukraine are escalating with recent air violations.
NATO deployed fighter jets after three Russian MiG-31s violated Estonian airspace for 12 minutes, a development that prompted Tallinn to request a UN Security Council meeting and hold talks with its allies.
Earlier this month, NATO member Poland said Russian drones repeatedly violated its airspace during attacks on Ukraine, in what Warsaw described as an “act of aggression”.
Trump had previously indicated that the violation of Polish airspace may have occurred by mistake, but his latest position reflects a more assertive stance on the matter.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday praised a major shift in the position of his US counterpart, Donald Trump, after the latter said that Kyiv was capable of reclaiming all territories seized by Russian forces.
“This post by Trump represents a major shift,” Zelensky said, referring to a position the White House president had posted on Truth Social.
The Ukrainian president said Trump clearly understands the situation and is well informed about all aspects of this war.
