Poland says it has 'duty' to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine before they enter its airspace

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Warsaw has a "duty" to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine before they enter its airspace, the Polish foreign minister said Monday.

Poland and other countries bordering Ukraine have a "duty" to intercept Russian missiles before they enter their airspace, Radosław SikorskiIn said during an interview with Financial Times.

Protecting national airspace is paramount despite the opposition of NATO, he noted.

"Membership in NATO does not trump each country’s responsibility for the protection of its own airspace — it’s our own constitutional duty," he stated.

SikorskiIn went on to say that it would be legitimate self-defense as once they do cross into national airspace, the risk of debris injuring someone is significant.

Citing military officials, the state-run PAP news agency reported Monday that Poland has scrambled aircraft and put its air defense systems on alert as Russia launched a massive air attack on neighboring Ukraine overnight into Monday.

"All necessary procedures have been initiated to ensure the safety of Polish airspace," the operational command of Poland's armed forces said in a statement.

It added that it was "monitoring the situation."