Speaking to Fox News, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says that European countries should shoot down Russian jets within NATO airspace "if so necessary". Rutte joins the list of senior Western figures raising at least the prospect of such action, with US President Donald Trump replying "Yes, I do" when asked on 23 Sep if NATO should shoot down Russian jets making incursions into its airspace.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with CNN that "if there is an intrusion in the airspace, after warning, after being very clear, of course, the option of shooting down a fighter jet that is intruding our airspace is on the table.”
- NATO shooting down a Russian jet remains a low-probability, high-impact scenario. The last such incident took place in 2015 when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 in the Turkey-Syria border area. The geopolitical situation at that time was, of course, very different from the current decades-high tensions. Nevertheless, a higher number of incursions increases the number of opportunities for escalation via miscalculation or accident that could risk direct NATO-Russia conflict.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, on the repeated incursions into NATO airspace, "We will not allow these attacks to continue, and will take all measures towards effective deterrence."