European diplomats told Russian officials this week that NATO is prepared to respond in force to further airspace violations, including by shooting down Russian planes, Bloomberg reported Sept. 25.

British, French, and German officials raised concerns in a meeting in Moscow after three Russian fighter jets crossed into Estonian airspace last week, officials familiar with the talks told Bloomberg. The European diplomats concluded that the incident was intentional, despite Moscow’s denials.

Europe’s warning comes amid rising tensions between Moscow and NATO in the wake of recent violations of the alliance’s airspace by Russian aircraft. Over the past month, Russian drones have violated Polish, Romanian, and possibly Danish airspace. On Sept. 19, Estonia accused Russia of violating its airspace with three MiG-31 fighter jets, which remained in Estonian airspace for 12 minutes.

Just today, Hungarian fighter jets intercepted five Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea.

A German government official confirmed the meeting in Moscow, and that the European ambassadors told their Russian counterparts that the airspace violations needed to stop. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he is coordinating with Paris, London, and Warsaw and supports “all measures necessary.”

NATO’s Article 4, which calls for consultations over perceived threats, has already been invoked twice this month following incidents in Poland and Estonia. Danish authorities said they may also trigger the clause as they investigate possible Russian involvement in drone activity that disrupted air traffic in Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to France, Alexey Meshkov, said that NATO potentially shooting down a Russian plane in allied airspace “would be war,” and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that NATO and the EU have “declared war” on Russia through Ukraine.

The United States has so far supported its allies amidst the increased tensions, with President Donald Trump even saying that NATO should down Russian aircraft violating its airspace.

The hostile rhetoric, as well as recent surge in Russian airspace violations and other provocations on NATO territory, including disinformation campaigns, has heightened concerns in the West over the risk of a broader Russian military escalation.

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