UK warns Russia’s Nato incursions risk armed conflict, Moscow calls claims ‘hysterical’

Britain’s Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper on Monday warned that Russia’s incursions into Nato territory could provoke an armed conflict, a statement that prompted a swift rebuke from Moscow, which dismissed the concerns as unfounded and “hysterical.”

“Your reckless actions risk direct armed confrontation between Nato and Russia. Our alliance is defensive but be under no illusion we stand ready to defend Nato’s skies and Nato’s territory,” Reuters quoted Cooper as saying at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

“If we need to confront planes operating in Nato space without permission then we will do so,” she added.

Estonia on Friday said that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace, remaining for 12 minutes before being forced to withdraw.

Western officials described the incursion as a deliberate move to test Nato’s readiness and resolve.

In response, the United Nations Security Council convened on Monday to address the matter, with Nato consultations scheduled for Tuesday.

The incident follows another breach just over a week earlier, when more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting Nato aircraft to intercept and shoot some of them down.

Cooper’s warning was echoed by several Western ministers at the Security Council, who argued that the repeated violations could not be dismissed as accidental.

Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmytry Polyanskiy, said there was no evidence backing their claims and accused European powers of levying “baseless” accusations.

“We won’t be partaking in this theater of the absurd,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

“When you decide that you want to engage in a serious discussion about European security, about the fate of our common continent, about how to make this continent prosperous and secure for everybody, we’ll be ready,” he added.

With inputs from agencies