Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned Saturday that Moscow would deliver a “decisive response” to any act of “aggression,” days after U.S. President Donald Trump said NATO members should shoot down Russian aircraft that breach their airspace.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Lavrov rejected claims that Russia intends to attack NATO or European Union countries. “Russia has never had and does not have any such intentions. However, any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response,” he said.
His remarks follow a spate of complaints from several NATO capitals that Russian fighter jets and drones have recently violated allied airspace, accusations Western officials say amount to probing the alliance’s defenses. Asked Tuesday whether NATO states should down any Russian planes that cross into their airspace, Trump answered: “Yes, I do.”
Trump, who once touted warm relations with Vladimir Putin and last month invited the Russian president to talks in Alaska—effectively ending his post-2022 ostracization in the West—has since expressed irritation with Moscow’s war aims. He has said Ukraine should regain all territory seized by Russia and even suggested Kyiv could carry the fight across the border. Despite threatening new sanctions, his administration has not yet imposed additional economic penalties on Russia.
Lavrov, while bristling at Trump’s airspace comments, nonetheless offered calibrated praise for Washington’s broader posture. “In the approaches of the current U.S. administration, we see a desire not only to contribute to ways to realistically resolve the Ukrainian crisis, but also a desire to develop pragmatic cooperation without adopting an ideological stance,” he said.
The exchange underscores the heightened risk of miscalculation around NATO’s periphery, where even brief airspace incursions can trigger rapid responses. Under alliance rules, member states can intercept or engage intruding aircraft, and repeated violations have prompted some governments to harden rules of engagement. Any move to shoot down a Russian plane, however, would mark a dangerous escalation between nuclear powers.
With frontline fighting in Ukraine grinding on and diplomatic channels narrowing, Lavrov’s warning and Trump’s remarks highlight the fragile balance: NATO’s insistence on defending its airspace, Russia’s vow to retaliate, and a tenuous search—amid sharp rhetoric—for a path to de-escalation.
