The White House opposes Poland's shooting down of Russian missiles over Ukraine: they talk about the threat of escalation

The U.S. presidential administration does not support the idea of shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine from Poland. They fear an escalation of the conflict, noting that it will not benefit either Kyiv or Warsaw.

This was stated by John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator of the US National Security Council, to Polish Radio. "No one wants this war to escalate," he said.

According to the White House representative, the Polish government should establish and announce its self-defense procedures. At the same time, he added that the determination of whether a particular missile downing is qualified as self-defense or escalation depends on the circumstances.

"We want to look for ways for Ukraine to be effective, but we don't want escalation. That would not be good for Ukrainians, it would not be good for Poles. We don't want Putin to get the argument that the war was provoked by NATO, that it's a war between Russia and the West or between Russia and the United States," Kirby explained the United States' position.

Meanwhile, Polish Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh said that his country would not shoot down Russian missiles flying towards western Ukraine without a decision of the entire NATO. Poland will not make any decisions on this issue on its own, he said. The minister added that there is no such consensus in the Alliance and pointed to the position of the White House.

However, the situation with missiles that may end up on the territory of Poland itself is quite different.

"Of course, there are other procedures for missiles on the territory of the republic. Then it is our decision," Kosiniak-Kamysh said.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

– Kyiv and Warsaw have an agreement to develop a mechanism for Poland to shoot down Russian missiles and drones in Ukrainian airspace. We are talking about the means of destruction that will be sent in the direction of Poland, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

– The United States has said that North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states may discuss the issue of Poland shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine at the NATO summit. This will happen if the topic is raised by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

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