Idea to shoot down missiles over Ukraine could cause escalation — White House

The US is skeptical about Warsaw's proposal to use military capabilities in Poland to shoot down missiles over western Ukraine, as this could escalate the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with Polskie Radio.

"Nations certainly have expressed and have a right to express concerns over a potential spillover here. I’ll let the Polish government speak to its self-defense needs and its self-defense policies. But we don’t want to see this war escalate," he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said following talks with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on July 8 that Warsaw would discuss with NATO allies the possibility of shooting down missiles over western Ukraine near the Polish border. There is a clause in a bilateral agreement on long-term defense and security cooperation that requires to start this discussion. The agreement was signed by Tusk and Zelensky in Warsaw earlier that day. On July 9, US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said the Polish idea could become a topic for discussion at the NATO summit that is taking place in Washington.