In recent weeks, several notable violations of NATO countries' airspace have occurred. Russian drones have been detected over Poland and Romania, and last week, three Russian fighter jets flew through Estonian airspace.
On the question of whether Russian flights that violate NATO countries' airspace should be shot down, the Prime Minister responds:
The obvious answer is: that can absolutely not be ruled out. I say roughly the same as Mark Rutte, that all NATO countries take it very seriously. No one is reckless, but the signal is crystal clear. We will not accept this, and if it continues, it will have consequences, says Kristersson.
The first thing you do is not to shoot things down, but to warn and mark that this is not how it should be done. But ultimately, we will shoot down vehicles that should not be in Swedish airspace.
"Capable actor"
Late on Monday, several drones of unknown origin flew in over Copenhagen's Kastrup airport and stopped traffic for around four hours. Kristersson says he has spoken with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and according to the picture he has received, there is nothing that currently suggests coincidence.
They say it was such large and advanced systems that it requires a capable actor. Capable actors can be states, but it can also be state-sponsored organizations, says Kristersson.
Hang together
He emphasizes that what has happened in Poland, Estonia, Romania, and Denmark should not be seen as separate events, but that one must assume they are connected.
TT: If this is a sign of a Russian pattern, what does Russia want to achieve?
One should not draw hasty conclusions, but one should not be naive either. One can probably assume that it's about testing NATO's and individual countries' reaction capabilities. How fast are we, what reactions do we get diplomatically, and how do other partner countries react, says Kristersson.
According to the Prime Minister, Sweden has anti-drone systems around several airports and is prepared for incidents to occur here as well.
We take it very seriously, we will not accept this, and we are on our toes.
