Russia threatens all out war with NATO as nuclear bombers deployed in chilling warning

Vladimir Putin sent up long-range nuclear bombers over the Barents Sea in a warning to the West (Image: Russian defence ministry)

Russia has threatened a full-scale war with NATO after a demand for the West to shoot down Russian drones over Ukraine. Warsaw called for a no-fly zone over parts of Ukraine after the incursion of at least 20 UAVs from Vladimir Putin's forces over Poland and Romania in recent days, sparking widepsread condemnation.

Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said NATO should start shooting down Russian drones and missiles over Ukraine — a plan strongly supported by Kyiv. However, close ally of Mr Putin, Dmitry Medvedev — a former Russian president and premier —immediately hit back. He warned: “Seriously, the implementation of the provocative idea of Kyiv and other idiots about creating a ‘no-fly zone’ over Ukraine, and the ability for NATO countries to shoot down our UAVs, will mean only one thing - a war between NATO and Russia.”

Dmitry Medvedev (left) with his ally Vladimir Putin (right) (Image: Getty)

Mr Sikorski earlier said targeting Russian drones over Ukraine “will be beneficial” for Western countries.

“We need to think about this. Technically, we, as NATO and the EU, would be capable of doing this, but it is not a decision that Poland can make alone, only together with its allies,” he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Moscow portrays such a move as NATO being actively and directly involved in the war.

At least three of up to 24 Russian drones which flew into Polish and NATO airspace were shot down in the early hours of Wednesday last week.

This was followed by a Russian drone overflying Romania for 50 minutes.

Mr Sikorski said the threats could lead to a NATO decision to close part of Ukrainian airspace.

He said: “Putin has possibly brought forward this idea because we manage our space together, and opinion is shifting towards this idea."

This came as the Russian president sent up his long-range Tu-22M3 nuclear-capable strategic bombers over the Barents Sea in a warning to the West.

The four-hour flight was linked to a major Russia-Belarus war games exercise called 'Zapad 2025'.

Ukrainian military intelligence shared a video of a Russian air defence system being destroyed (Image: HUR)

The Russian defence ministry noted that all of its flights are carried out in strict accordance with international norms for the use of airspace.

Separately, in a blow to Mr Putin, Ukraine destroyed a £37 million Russian Buk air defence system near Oleksandrivka, in the occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.

The moment of the strike was caught on video, Kyiv's military intelligence agency reported.

Meanwhile, Ukraine was hit by Russian attacks overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region.