Estonia Invokes NATO Consultation After Russia Breaches Airspace
Estonia triggered consultations with its NATO military partners after reporting that three Russian fighter jets violated its airspace on Friday in an unprecedentedly brazen manner. This breach marks Russia’s fourth incursion into Estonia this year and the third airspace violation in a NATO member country this month, following incidents in Poland and Romania.
A spokesman for NATO’s military command stated that Italian F-35 fighter jets based in Estonia were scrambled in response to Russia’s airspace violation, accompanied by Swedish and Finnish quick-reaction aircraft. “This is not the type of behavior one would expect from a professional air force,” Colonel Martin O’Donnell said in a statement.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called the violation “totally unacceptable” and announced that Estonia had invoked Article Four of NATO’s treaty. This step triggers consultations among allies and can pave the way for coordinated action. “NATO fighters responded and the Russian planes were forced to flee,” he added in a post on X.
NATO’s eastern flank remains on high alert after the alliance took the unprecedented step of shooting down Russian drones that entered Polish airspace earlier this month—the first such move since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. To bolster defense, NATO has reinforced the border by deploying additional air defense systems and military jets. Following the drone incident on September 10, Poland sought a NATO consultation.
Earlier on Friday, Estonia’s government summoned the Russian chargé d’affaires after reports of the incursion surfaced. Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief and former Estonian prime minister, termed the incident “an extremely dangerous provocation” on X.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna detailed that the MiG fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission, remaining there for a total of 12 minutes in what he described as an unprecedentedly brazen incursion. “Russia’s increasingly extensive testing of boundaries and growing aggressiveness must be met with a swift increase in political and economic pressure,” Tsahkna said.
NATO has enhanced its eastern borders by deploying additional air defense systems and military jets as part of an operation named Eastern Sentry. Colonel O’Donnell explained, “As we have stated previously, Eastern Sentry integrates air and ground-based defenses and better connects existing activities like air policing into a more coherent defensive posture. That was on display today.”
The heightened tensions come shortly after Russia concluded its latest war games with Belarus, known as Zapad—the first drills since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In related developments, Poland’s Border Guard reported provocative behavior by Russia’s air force on Friday, noting that two Russian jets flew low near an Orlen SA oil platform in the Baltic Sea.
With assistance from Andrea Palasciano, Piotr Skolimowski, and Patrick Donahue.
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