Kremlin says talk of shooting down Russian planes is a serious escalation of tensions

The Kremlin stated on Friday that the suggestion of shooting down Russian military planes over Europe was reckless, aggressive, and represented a serious escalation of tensions near Russia's border.

"Statements about shooting down Russian planes are, at the very least, reckless, irresponsible, and, of course, dangerous in their potential consequences," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that European diplomats had warned Moscow that NATO was prepared to respond with full force to violations of its airspace, including the possibility of shooting down Russian planes.

Peskov also reiterated Moscow's denial that its fighter jets had entered Estonian airspace last week.

"We heard the claims that our planes violated Estonian airspace. However, no evidence, let alone convincing evidence, has been presented," he said.

"And, of course, given the recklessness of such statements, this represents another significant escalation of tensions near our border."

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