Time to answer with fire? The head of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense suggests shooting Russian aircraft

The Minister of Defense of Lithuania Dovile Sakaliene suggested on Saturday on platform X, the shooting of Russian aircraft violating the borders of NATO and appealed to the alliance states for a “more serious approach” to Russia's provocation in the aircraft.

“NATO border in the north-east is put to the test for a reason. We must act seriously. Ps. Turkey gave an example 10 years ago. It gives food for thought,” noted Sakaliene, referring to the shooting down of the Russian Su-24 by Turkey in 2015.

Her commentary appeared after reports from Estonia about the violation of her airspace by Russian fighters. On Friday, the Three Russian MiG-31 violated the Estonian airspace near the island of Vaindloo in the Gulf of Finnish. The Estonian army announced that the aircraft remained in the airspace of Estonia for about 12 minutes, not transferring flight plans or communicating with air traffic control.

The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the Russian Charge d'Affaires and gave it a formal protest note.

The Russian authorities claim that fighters had a planned flight from Karelia in the northwest Russia to the base in the Królewiec region and flew over 3 km from Vaindloo. This island is the furthest to the north of Estonia. (PAP)

Os/ Mal/