Hijacked passenger aircrafts will be brought down

Any hijacked passenger airliner will be destroyed, if it enters Moscow air space, reports RIA Novosti, citing Col.-Gen. Yury Solovyov, a commander of the special-purpose forces. This decision was made despite the lack of amendments to the Russian state-border law authorizing such actions.

According to Solovyov, the State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament) has so far failed to pass amendments to the state-border law. Such amendments would make it possible to knock down hijacked passenger planes. The current law sanctions to bring down warplanes and drones, as well as aircraft carrying only terrorists without hostages.

The Special Forces have become a hostage to the situation, Solovyov noted. "They would handcuff me, if I do not knock down a plane with passengers on board. However, they would do the same, if I leave it alone", said the officer. The final decision about the destiny of a hijacked passenger plane is up to the Commander-in-Chief (that is the President) or the Defense Minister, specified the general.