Trump says NATO countries should shoot down Russian jets that violate airspace

President Donald Trump called on NATO countries to shoot down any Russian jets that violate their airspace on Tuesday.

Trump made the comments during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Both leaders were in New York City on Tuesday for a United Nations General Assembly meeting.

"Do you think that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?" a reporter asked.

"Yes, I do," Trump replied.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (L) speaks during a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The statement came hours after Trump slammed the United Nations for not aiding his administration's peace push and for "creating new problems" for the U.S. and member nations. He also questioned the UN's purpose and offered "the hand of American leadership and friendship" to all countries in the body.

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"Not only is the U.N. not solving the problems it should, it, too often, is actually creating new problems for us to solve," Trump said. "The best example is the number one political issue of our time: the crisis of uncontrolled migration. It is uncontrolled. Your countries are being ruined."

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) on September 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The president said the U.N. is "funding an assault on Western countries and their borders."

"The U.N. is supporting people that are illegally coming into the United States, and we have to get them out," Trump said. "The U.N. also provided food, shelter, transportation and debit cards to illegal aliens."

He added: "The UN is supposed to stop invasions — not create them and not finance them."

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President Trump rebuked world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday. (David Dee Delgado/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump said illegal immigrants are also "pouring into Europe."

"It is not sustainable and, because they choose to be politically correct, they are doing absolutely nothing about it," Trump said, later adding: "Your countries are going to hell. In America, we’ve taken bold action to swiftly shut down uncontrolled migration."

"Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border and removing illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stop coming. They're not coming anymore," Trump said, while thanking El Salvador for "receiving and jailing criminals" that entered the United States.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.