Putin crony threatens full scale war if NATO shoots down Russian drones

Vladimir Putin's top crony has threatened full-scale war with NATO if the military organisation shoots down Russian drones - less than a week after one strayed into two member states' airspace.

Spooked Russian officials have reacted with alarm to renewed proposals from Poland for the military pact to enforce a no-fly zone over parts of Ukraine after a drone strayed into the country last week. The major incursion, dubbed a test by Moscow of NATO's resolve, sparked immediate World War Three fears, and pact members have spent days discussing a response.

Proposals for a no-fly zone and for an enhanced aerial presence in Ukraine have been branded a "provocative idea" by Putin's attack dog, who sensationally warned of "a war between NATO and Russia".

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Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski demanded NATO start shooting down missiles and drones over his country, a plan long supported by Ukraine. But close Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev - a former Russian president and premier - immediately hit back with a fiery statement.

He declared: "Seriously, the implementation of the provocative idea of Kyiv and other idiots about creating a ‘no-fly zone’ over Ukraine, and the ability for NATO countries to shoot down our UAVs, will mean only one thing - a war between NATO and Russia."

Moscow has claimed since it started invading Ukraine that any attempt by NATO to enforce a no-fly zone would be received as direct provocation of war, but Poland has insisted the move to target drones would be "beneficial” for Western nations. Mr Sikorski said: "We need to think about this.

"Technically, we, as NATO and the EU, would be capable of doing this, but it is not a decision that Poland can make alone, only together with its allies,” he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Russian drones have increasingly infringed on NATO territory in recent weeks, with an additional incursion reported in Romania after four of 23 drones that flew into Poland were shot down. The country's government deployed two F-16 jets after the drone briefly entered its airspace on Saturday and tracked it until it dropped off the radar.

Romania's defence ministry reported that the drone "did not fly over inhabited areas and did not represent an imminent danger to the security of the population".

A spokesperson for the ministry added in a statement: "[The drone] orbited for about 50 minutes, from north-east of Chilia Veche to south-west of Izmail, and left national airspace near the town of Pardina, heading towards Ukraine." NATO is not currently leaning towards a no-fly zone solution to the issue.

Instead, members of the organisation have agreed to move more fighter jets and bolster its eastern flank, an initiative launched by Denmark, France and Germany and expected to be joined by the UK.