German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has affirmed that NATO is fully prepared to defend its territory against any potential Russian incursions, while emphasizing the alliance’s lack of desire to escalate tensions with Moscow. This statement reflects mounting European concerns regarding what Wadephul described as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to test NATO’s defenses.
NATO’s eastern members have reported multiple airspace violations this month, prompting serious warnings to Russia that European nations are ready to respond decisively, including the potential downing of aircraft if necessary. “Our countries do not have any interest in escalation, but Russia perhaps wants to lead us into a trap,” Wadephul remarked in a recent interview with Bloomberg TV in New York.
He added, “So we are ready to defend our territory,” stressing that Russia needs to understand that victory against NATO is unattainable.
Russian officials have countered that their aircraft did not encroach on Estonian airspace and characterized a recent incident involving drones in Polish territory as an error. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, addressing recent drone occurrences at Danish airports, called out Russia as Europe’s primary adversary and accused Putin of efforts to destabilize the region.
In response to the warnings from European leaders regarding NATO’s preparedness to intercept Russian aircraft, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov labeled these comments as reckless and noted that no evidence has been presented to support claims of airspace violations.
Wadephul reiterated a cautionary statement from Germany and its allies, indicating that Russia could be capable of launching an attack on NATO territory by the end of the decade. He referenced a surge in military spending initiated by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling coalition, which is aimed at transforming Germany’s armed forces into Europe’s strongest conventional military.
