Three Russian military jets on Friday violated NATO member Estonia's airspace for 12 minutes in an "unprecedentedly brazen" incursion, its government said, amid rising tensions on the alliance's eastern flank.
Russia's defence ministry denied the incursion, saying its jets flew over neutral waters.
Italian F-35 fighters attached to NATO's air defence support mission in the Baltic states were scrambled to intercept the Russian jets and warn them off, Estonian and Italian officials said.
Sweden and Finland also scrambled rapid reaction aircraft, a spokesperson for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said.
Estonia immediately called for urgent talks with NATO allies, less than two weeks after Poland did the same after claiming an incursion by a wave of Russian drones.
The alleged Russian incursion came with tensions high on NATO's eastern border, after Warsaw last week complained that about 20 Russian drones overflew its territory — though the Kremlin denied targeting Poland.
Airspace violation 'unacceptable' Tallinn said the three fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission.
"Russia has violated Estonian airspace four times already this year, which is unacceptable in itself, but today's violation, during which three fighter jets entered our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen," said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
In a statement issued early on Saturday, local time, Russia's defence ministry said its jets flew over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, in proceeding from north-west Russia to Kaliningrad.
"The flight was carried out in strict conformity with international rules governing airspace with no violation of the borders of other states as is confirmed by independent checks," the ministry said of the three MiG-31 fighters in a post on Telegram.
"During the flight, the Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed flight path and did not violate Estonian airspace."
Estonia has requested consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, NATO said.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said that the North Atlantic Council will convene early next week to discuss the incident in more detail.
Russia's defence ministry denied the incident, claiming the jets were on a "scheduled flight … in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring".
It added its jets routinely fly over the Baltic Sea between mainland Russia and its exclave of Kaliningrad, where Russia's Baltic Fleet is based.
"Earlier today, Russian jets violated Estonian airspace. NATO responded immediately and intercepted the Russian aircraft. This is yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and NATO's ability to respond," a NATO spokesperson said on X.
The White House and the US State Department did not immediately return requests for comment.
President Donald Trump said on Friday he would soon be briefed on reports and made clear he was not pleased with the situation.
"I don't love it. I don't like when that happens. Could be big trouble," Mr Trump said.
"This was no accident," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in comments relayed by a spokesperson.
France, which has a battalion, including fighter jets, based in Estonia, on Friday called Russia's incursions a blatant violation of international law.
"This incursion into Estonia is unprecedented for more than 20 years," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media: "Russian destabilisation is expanding to new countries and directions."
Estonia said it had summoned the top Russian diplomat in the country to lodge a protest and deliver a note.
A European source said that Estonia was considering asking NATO to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance's treaty, and that the Russian jets flew around 9 km into NATO airspace before Italian F-35s pushed them out.
Article 4 states that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.
Aircraft had no flight plans Estonian Defence Forces said the airspace violation occurred on Friday morning in the area of Vaindloo Island, around 100 kilometres from the capital Tallinn.
Europe's 'magical mystery summer' Photo shows Several people sitting at a table, looking on.Several people sitting at a table, looking on. Moscow's drone incursion into Polish airspace this week may have just laid bare how fruitless Europe's summer of talkfests has been.
The aircraft did not have flight plans, their transponders were not switched on and they were not in contact with air traffic control, Estonian officials said.
While incursions over Vaindloo Island by Russian aircraft are fairly common, they do not usually last as long as Friday's incident.
"It's tough to see how this wasn't intentional," a US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity said. The official noted that it was difficult to see a situation where that many Russian aircraft did not know they were in Estonian airspace for that long, but added that a deeper assessment was ongoing.
Jakub M. Godzimirski, a research professor in Russian security policy at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, told Reuters that the incident could be a test, but could also be purely coincidental.
"Still, this happens in a given context, having in mind what happened with the drone incursion in Poland a few days ago," Mr Godzimirski said.
A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Tallinn said in May that Moscow had briefly sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an attempt to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a "shadow fleet" defying Western sanctions on Moscow.
[Source: ABC News]
Original Story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-20/estonia-says-russian-jets-violated-its-airspace/105796844?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web
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