BRUSSELS: NATO warned Russia on Tuesday that it would use all means to defend against any further breaches of its airspace after the downing earlier this month of Russian drones over Poland and Estonia’s report of an intrusion by Russian fighter jets last week.
The Sept. 10 incident in Poland was the first direct encounter between NATO and Moscow since the war in Ukraine began. It jolted leaders across Europe, raising questions about how prepared the alliance is against growing Russian aggression.
Another test of NATO’s preparedness and credibility came last Friday, after Estonia said that three Russian fighter jets had entered its airspace for 12 minutes without authorization, a charge that Russia has rejected.
“Russia should be in no doubt: NATO and Allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats from all directions,” the alliance said in a statement.
“We will continue to respond in the manner, timing, and domain of our choosing,” the 32-member NATO said, and underlined its commitment to Article 5 of its founding treaty that an attack on any one ally must be considered an attack on them all.
Asked whether suspect aircraft would be shot down, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said this would depend “on available intelligence regarding the threat posed by the aircraft, including questions we have to answer like intent, armaments and potential risk to allies, forces, civilians or infrastructure.”
On Monday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland would “without discussion” shoot down flying objects when they violate Polish territory.
Not all appear to endorse that approach. “We will always assess the situation, assess the immediate threat the plane poses,” Rutte said.
The NATO statement came after Estonia requested formal consultations under Article 4 of its treaty, which allows any alliance member to demand a meeting if it believes its territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Rutte said the call for talks was “absolutely warranted.”
Rutte also said that it was “too early to say” whether a drone incident at Copenhagen Airport overnight, which shut down airspace around Scandinavia’s largest airport for hours, was linked to Russia.
Britain’s top diplomat has said that the United Kingdom is ready to “confront” Russian planes if they enter NATO airspace. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Moscow’s “reckless actions risk a direct armed confrontation” between Russia and the Western military alliance.
Speaking Monday at the United Nations in New York, Cooper said: “We are vigilant. We are resolute. And if we need to confront planes that are operating in NATO airspace without permission, then we will do so.”
Typhoon jets from the Royal Air Force have been taking part in NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission, flying their first mission over Poland on Sept. 19.
The airspace incidents have sparked calls for action, and raised questions about NATO’s ability to deter Russia even as President Vladimir Putin wages war on Ukraine.
They also come months after the Trump administration warned Europe that it must take care of its own security, and that of Ukraine, in future, raising questions about the American commitment to the world’s biggest military alliance. Threats of tough US sanctions against Russia have also remained just threats.
“We see a pattern: Russia is testing European borders, probing our resolve, undermining the security of the whole of Europe. Russia will continue to provoke as long as we allow it,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the United Nations on Monday.
NATO warns Russia it will use all means to defend against airspace breaches after Estonia incursions
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NATO warns Russia it will use all means to defend against airspace breaches after Estonia incursions
- “Russia should be in no doubt: NATO and Allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves,” the alliance said
- “We will continue to respond in the manner, timing, and domain of our choosing”
What to know about the search for the Brown University shooting suspect
- The video from more than hour before the attack shows the suspect running at times in quiet residential streets near campus
PROVIDENCE, R.I.: With the Brown University shooter still on the loose Tuesday, authorities released new video of a suspect and police fanned out to Providence schools to reassure parents, kids and teachers as investigators pushed for new evidence that might help them crack the case.
Here’s a look at what to know about the attack and the search:
Search on after new video and description of suspect
Authorities released a video timeline and a slightly clearer image of the man suspected in Saturday’s attack in an engineering building classroom, where two students were killed and nine were wounded. The video from more than hour before the attack shows the suspect running at times in quiet residential streets near campus.
In videos previously made public, the suspect’s face was masked or turned away and authorities were only able to give a vague description of him as having a stocky build and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.
The gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Police have asked the public for tips, and said they had received about 200 by Tuesday. Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, asked the public Tuesday to look at their camera systems in the area where the person was walking to review any footage that goes back a week.
Authorities on Sunday released a different person of interest after determining he wasn’t behind the attack, which happened in a first-floor classroom where students were cramming for an exam. Providence police spokeswoman Kristy dosReis said the man’s detention didn’t affect the ongoing investigation.
Police fan out to local schools
Tensions remain high in Providence. Ten state troopers were assigned to support the local police sent to beef up security at schools, district Superintendent Javier Montañez said. The district said it canceled after-school activities, sporting events and field trips this week “out of an abundance of caution.”
The attack and the shooter’s escape also have raised questions about campus security, including a lack of security cameras, and led to calls for better locks on campus doors. But some said what they called the real issue needs to be addressed.
“The issue isn’t the doors, it’s the guns,” said Zoe Kass, a senior who fled the engineering building Saturday.
Authorities have said that one reason they lacked video of the shooter was because Brown’s older engineering building doesn’t have many cameras.
University defends response
Brown President Christina Paxson defended the university’s response, saying it was deeply committed to the safety, security and well-being of its students. She also said the campus is equipped with 1,200 cameras.
“I have been deeply saddened by people questioning that,” she said Tuesday. “As time goes on, there is a natural instinct to assign responsibility for tragic events like this. Anxiety here is very natural, but the shooter is responsible.”
Paxson said the university has two security systems. One system is activated at a time of emergency and sent out text messages, phone calls and emails that, in this shooting, reached 20,000 individuals. The other system features three sirens across campus, but Paxson said that would not be activated in an active shooter situation.
“Those get activated when there is a broad scale emergency, and we want people to rush into buildings,” she said. “In the case of an active shooter, activating that system could have caused people to rush into Barus and Holley.”
When pressed by a reporter who noted the university website says the sirens can be used when there is an active shooter, Paxson reaffirmed she didn’t think it would be used in that situation.
“It depends on the circumstances and where the active shooter would be but you don’t want to ever get people rushing into buildings that might be the site of an active shooter,” she said.
Details about the victims emerge
Two of the wounded students had been released from the hospital as of Tuesday, Brown spokeswoman Amanda McGregor said. Of the seven others, one remained in critical condition, five were in critical but stable condition and one was in stable condition, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.
One of the wounded, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald there was a scramble after the gunman entered the room. Yang said he wound up on the ground and was shot in the leg.
The students who died were MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, and Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.
Jacob Spears, 18, a freshman from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the stomach, “but through sheer adrenaline and courage, he managed to run outside, where he was aided by others,” according to a GoFundMe site organized for him.
Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was wounded.
