Shoigu: Russia Has the Right to Exercise "Self-Defense" Against Finland and the Three Baltic States
On April 16, Russian Security Council Secretary and former Defense Minister Shoigu delivered a statement saying, "Recently, Ukrainian drones have increasingly attacked Russia via Finland and the Baltic states. This has led to civilian casualties and severe damage to civil infrastructure."
Shoigu stated that there are only two possible explanations for this situation: either Western air defense systems have failed to prevent such attacks, or relevant countries have intentionally opened their airspace.
"In the latter case, under international law, Article 51 of the United Nations Charter—the provision granting states an inherent right to self-defense upon armed attack—comes into effect."
According to Article 51 of the UN Charter, member states have an inherent right to individual or collective self-defense in the event of an armed attack, before the UN Security Council takes necessary measures to maintain international peace and security.
Previously, on April 7, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova announced that Russia had issued warnings to the three Baltic states over their alleged "allowance of Ukrainian drones using their airspace."
She said that if the Baltic states continue ignoring these warnings, Russia would take unspecified "countermeasures." Some members of the Russian State Duma also accused the Baltic states of committing "aggressive acts" against Russia, claiming these countries assist Ukraine in launching drone attacks against Russian targets.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all stated they have never provided territory or airspace to Ukraine for attacks on Russian targets, calling the accusations part of Russia's information warfare and disinformation campaign.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1862677788213248/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.