Czech President appeals to NATO
Petr Pavel: Shoot down Russian jets
May 23, 2026 – 12:17 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
NATO should show Putin its limits, demands Petr Pavel. The Czech President also makes concrete suggestions.
Czech President Petr Pavel has appealed to NATO to take a stronger stance towards Russia. The defense alliance should “show its teeth,” he demanded in an interview with the British “The Guardian.”
Pavel, a former general in the Czech army, said Putin sometimes laughs at NATO’s inability to make decisions. He called on NATO to take more action to respond to Russian provocations on NATO’s eastern flank. This also included “asymmetrical actions” such as cutting off Internet access in Russia, excluding Russian banks from the international financial system or shooting down Russian jets that violated NATO airspace.
The 64-year-old was once head of the NATO Military Committee and often sat at the table with Moscow representatives in the Russia-NATO Committee. After Russia’s annexation of Crimea in violation of international law and the cautious reactions of NATO and the West, Moscow has learned how the defense alliance works. Putin has developed behavior that “almost fulfills Article 5 of the NATO Treaty (on joint assistance in the event of an attack, the editorial team), but only almost.”
“Because we can”
He has personally experienced how little Russia takes NATO seriously. “When I asked them why they carry out these provocative maneuvers in the air, these close encounters or overflights over warships in the Black Sea or the Baltic Sea, their answer was: ‘Because we can.’ We allowed exactly this behavior,” said the Czech president.
“After the annexation of Crimea, we discussed a possible continuation of the aggression several times, but my greatest fear was not an open military aggression against a NATO country, but rather a provocation that falls below the threshold of Article 5,” Pavel said. If some European heads of state and government “always prefer a diplomatic solution, even though the Russians show no willingness to do so,” NATO risks becoming divided and unable to act.
