President Donald Trump said Tuesday that NATO allies should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter alliance airspace, as tensions rise over recent air violations in Eastern Europe.
Trump made the comments during a meeting in New York with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Sky News reported.
When reporters asked him if NATO should act if Russian aircraft cross into allied airspace, Trump responded, "Yes, I do," but added that U.S. support in such operations would "depend on the circumstances."
The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy struck a notably warm tone, with Trump calling the Ukrainian leader "a great man" and praising Ukraine's resistance against Russia.
"We have great respect for the fight Ukraine is putting up," Trump said. "It's pretty amazing, actually."
He also invited Zelenskyy to share battlefield progress, with the Ukrainian president telling the press that he had "good news" to brief Trump on and said their talks would cover battlefield developments, security guarantees, and ways to increase pressure on Russia.
Last Friday, Estonia, a NATO member state, said that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had entered its airspace without permission and stayed 12 minutes before being forced to withdraw, an episode Western officials said was designed to test NATO's readiness and resolve.
Russia on Monday rejected the claim, saying Estonia had provided no evidence of an incursion and was trying to escalate East-West tensions.
Days earlier, about 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting NATO aircraft to intercept and shoot some of them down.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.