NATO’S CHIEF RUTTE: “WE ARE SO MUCH STRONGER THAN RUSSIA”
“If a plane would pose a threat, we have the authorities to do, if necessary, the ultimate. But if the plane is not posing a threat, we are not going to shoot it down.
And then we will gently guide it outside the airspace. This is exactly what they should do. And I totally agree with that approach, because we are so strong. It’s proportional response.
We are so much stronger than the Russians. We don’t have to take down Russian airplanes because they enter our airspace.
If they don’t pose a threat, being so much stronger than the Russians, I think it is much stronger that our reaction is as it is – proportionate, and of course making clear to the Russians that we are not too happy about these incursions.”
Source:
@clashreport
🇷🇺 NATO'S CHIEF RUTTE: “WE ARE SO MUCH STRONGER THAN RUSSIA”
"If a plane would pose a threat, we have the authorities to do, if necessary, the ultimate. But if the plane is not posing a threat, we are not going to shoot it down.
And then we will gently guide it outside the… https://t.co/8DohsqXI6Q pic.twitter.com/pAUAKNuCCs
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 14, 2025
“We are much stronger than the Russians. We shouldn’t shoot down Russian planes just because they enter our airspace. We do it only if they enter and pose a threat,” Rutte said.
According to him, if NATO were to shoot down Russian aircraft automatically, it would signal the Alliance’s “weakness.”
“If we were weak, you might think, ‘All right, we’re weak, so we must immediately show them that when they enter our airspace, we shoot them down,’” the NATO chief said.