Former Polish president calls on US to shoot down Russian fighter jet

Former Polish President Lech Walesa said yesterday that the US Navy should have shot down Russian Su-24 fighter jets when they approached the US destroyer Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea in mid-April.

Former Polish President Lech Walesa. Photo: Reuters

According to Mr. Walesa, such actions by Russia are intolerable. "If I were the commanding officer on the ship and saw those planes flying overhead, I would shoot them immediately," Sputnik quoted the former Polish prime minister as saying in an interview with Free Europe radio. "I would not kill the pilots, but I would shoot through the wings."

Mr Walesa insisted it was the right way to respond to what he called the "Russian threat" and "if they don't do that they will win".

Walesa said he did not believe that a hostile act could lead to a military conflict with Russia. "Nobody wants conflict, including Russia," he asserted.

The former Polish president also suggested that Washington should not be too lenient with Moscow, but instead, they should follow what Türkiye did when it shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter jet near the Syrian border in late November last year.

Following the incident, Moscow imposed a series of sanctions on Türkiye, repeatedly demanding Ankara apologize and compensate Russia and the family of the dead pilot. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 27 to express condolences and regret for shooting down the Russian plane.

Interfax on April 14 quoted Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov as saying that Russian Su-24 bombers flying near the US missile-equipped destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea on April 11 and 12 complied with all safety regulations.

However, earlier on April 13, the US military said that Russian fighter jets had "simulated an attack" when approaching the USS Donald Cook at a distance of 9 meters. A US official described it as the "most aggressive" action in recent times.

According to VNE