The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for more than two years without a clear horizon for its end (Reuters)

Russia and Ukraine exchanged air attacks with drones in a continuation of the escalation between the two sides in the war that has been raging for more than two years, at a time when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is considering shooting down any Russian missiles approaching its borders.

The Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleschuk, said today, Wednesday, that Russia launched 13 “Shahed” drones into Ukraine during the night, noting that 10 of them were shot down in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kiev regions.

He added that anti-aircraft missile units, mobile firefighting groups and electronic warfare equipment participated in repelling the air attack.

In the same context, the governor of the Belgorod region in southern Russia said, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, that Russian air defense units were able to shoot down 18 air targets over the region bordering Ukraine.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said - via the Telegram application - that one person was injured during the attacks, which also caused damage to private homes and cars.

For months, the Belgorod region and two neighboring regions - Kursk and Voronezh - have been subjected to repeated air attacks by Ukraine, with about 25 people killed in the largest attack the region witnessed at the beginning of the year.

NATO is studying the possibility of shooting down Russian missiles

On the other hand, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Sina said yesterday, Tuesday, that NATO is studying the possibility of shooting down any Russian missiles that might approach the bloc’s borders, two days after Poland criticized the violation of its airspace.

Warsaw announced - last Sunday - that a Russian cruise missile was launched at night at towns in western Ukraine, penetrating Polish airspace for 39 seconds, at a depth of about two kilometers from the border.

Sina said - in a statement to the local radio station "RMF 24" - that there are various concepts being analyzed within NATO in response to such incidents, including shooting down missiles when they are very close to the alliance's borders.

He pointed out that this measure must be with the approval of Ukraine, taking into account the international repercussions.

The Polish Minister of Defense also explained that his country had activated all its defense systems, and the missile could have been shot down if it turned out to be heading towards a target on Polish territory.

Last Monday, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its dissatisfaction with the failure of the Russian ambassador to Warsaw after he was summoned due to the incident.

Frequent accidents

Poland later announced that Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski had discussed the incident with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

During the conversation, Stoltenberg pointed to strengthening the alliance's vigilance and position in the eastern flank, including Poland.

This incident was preceded by a similar incident in December 2023, when a Russian missile penetrated Polish airspace before heading to Ukraine.

In November 2022, two people were killed when a Ukrainian air defense missile fell on the Polish village of Przevodov near the Ukrainian border.

Before it became clear that the missile was Ukrainian-made, fears were raised that NATO and Poland, as a member, would be drawn into escalating the conflict with Russia if the collective defense measures stipulated in its treaty were activated.

Source: Agencies