Overview
- Financial Times reports that NATO officials are discussing easing rules so pilots could open fire on Russian military aircraft that violate allied airspace.
- Options under consideration include deploying armed combat drones along the frontier with Russia and holding exercises in remote, less protected border areas.
- Countries bordering Russia initiated the talks with backing from France and the United Kingdom, according to officials cited by the report.
- Allies remain divided over escalation risks, including whether to require visual identification before firing or allow radar-based engagement.
- The debate follows reported incidents involving drones and aircraft in Poland and Estonia, which Moscow denies and characterizes as a pretext for European militarization.