UK push for new air defense coalition could be pretext for NATO deployment, expert says

MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. Against the backdrop of statements by former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on the need to shoot down Russian drones over Ukraine, the United Kingdom is calling for the creation of a new air defense coalition, which could serve as a pretext for deploying a NATO contingent in Kiev-controlled territory, Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), told TASS.

"It now appears that a certain air defense coalition will be formed under the auspices of the United Kingdom. Such a move is aimed at establishing a military presence and creating conditions for the deployment of a NATO contingent in territory controlled by the Kiev regime," the expert said.

According to him, similar coalitions have been formed in the past – the "coalition of the willing" as a key platform and the F-16 coalition. The current initiative follows the same logic, creating conditions to test the possibility of stationing a contingent under a pretext of allegedly protecting the airspace. Stepanov noted that this highlights the dire state of the Ukrainian armed forces and their inability to independently defend their airspace amid the dominance of Russian precision-guided systems, including Geran drones and long-range ballistic missiles.

"The United Kingdom assumes that these units will not be targeted for elimination and will not be considered legitimate targets by the Russian side. This is a major mistake. Any such action, any such military activity, will be suppressed, and there are enough Geran drones to target all systems--including British ones--that attempt to seal off the airspace over the territory still controlled by the Kiev regime," the expert concluded.

Earlier, former British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace stated in an interview with the Daily Mail that Britain should shoot down Russian drones over Ukraine. "There is nothing to stop a country shooting down incoming missiles or drones over Ukraine," he said.