President Trump warned Sunday that the US will defend Poland and the Baltic countries if Russia’s aggression escalates after a series of incursions into the airspace of the NATO allies.
Trump, asked by reporters on the White House lawn whether America will defend Poland and the Baltics if “Russia keeps accelerating,” responded, “Yeah, I would. I would.”
Trump, speaking moments before flying to the Arizona funeral of assassinated conservative icon Charlie Kirk, also confirmed that he had been briefed on the most recent tense situation, which involved Estonia, saying, “Yeah, we don’t like it.”
On Friday, Estonia said NATO intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that flew into its airspace without permission and stayed there for about 12 minutes.
Russia promptly issued a denial, claiming the flights were made “in strict accordance with international rules” and “without violating the borders of other countries.”
The alleged incursion took place after Poland had consulted with NATO allies when multiple Russian drones and fighter jets breached its airspace the week before.
On Sept. 9, Poland claimed that 19 to 23 Russian drones entered its airspace and that at least four of them were shot down.
Days after that, Romania claimed that a Russian drone entered its airspace as well.
All three countries are members of NATO, which means if attacked, they could invoke the international organization’s Section 5, which requires the entire alliance to take military action against the attacker.
The three countries had previously been under the thumb of the Soviet Union, either as a Soviet republic in the case of Estonia or as a satellite state.
Trump, who has voiced annoyance with the NATO alliance in the past, particularly for members not meeting their agreed-upon level of military spending, has recently been trying to get the powerful military bloc to ramp up sanctions on Russia.
Specifically, he wants them to team up with the US in imposing tariffs or sanctions on countries that purchase Russian oil, or funding that is used to prop up the Kremlin’s war machine against Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Baltic’s three countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, begged Congress to continue to fund military assistance under the Baltic Security Initiative program amid purported plans from the White House to propose cuts.
“We kindly ask you to support the funding of the Baltic Security Initiative in the fiscal year 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill and its authorization in the National Defense Appropriation Act,” the three countries’ parliaments wrote in a joint letter.
Russia’s aggression against NATO allies comes weeks after Trump met with Kremlin tyrant Vladimir Putin to discuss a way to end the war in Ukraine.
In addition to Moscow’s aggression against NATO allies, the Kremlin has also ramped up its offensive in Ukraine since Putin’s in-person discussion with Trump.
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