{"id":95128,"date":"2025-09-21T05:57:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T05:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=95128"},"modified":"2025-09-21T05:57:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T05:57:44","slug":"estonia-seeks-nato-consultation-after-russian-jets-violate-airspace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=95128","title":{"rendered":"Estonia seeks Nato consultation after Russian jets violate airspace"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Estonia has requested a consultation with other Nato members after Russian warplanes violated its airspace on Friday.<\/p>\n

Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered the Estonian skies \u201cwithout permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes\u201d over the Gulf of Finland, the government said.<\/p>\n

Italy, Finland and Sweden scrambled jets under Nato\u2019s mission to bolster its eastern flank. A Nato spokesperson said it was \u201cyet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and Nato\u2019s ability to respond\u201d.<\/p>\n

Russia denied violating Estonian airspace. But tensions have been escalating recently, after Poland and Romania \u2013 both Nato members \u2013 said Russian drones breached their airspace.<\/p>\n

Article 4 of the Nato treaty formally starts urgent consultations within the 32-member alliance, which ties the US and many European nations together on collective defence.<\/p>\n

It is the second time this month that a Nato member has requested Article 4 consultations. Poland did so on 10 September after Russian drones entered its airspace.<\/p>\n

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said \u201cNato\u2019s response to any provocation must be united and strong\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider it essential to consult with our allies to ensure shared situational awareness and to agree on our next joint steps,\u201d Michal said.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump said on Friday: \u201cI don\u2019t love it. I don\u2019t like when that happens. Could be big trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Estonia, which shares a border with Russia to the east, says this was the fifth Russian violation of its airspace this year.<\/p>\n

Officials said the Russian aircraft entered its airspace from the north-east and were intercepted by Finnish jets over the Gulf of Finland. Once inside Estonian airspace, Italian F-35 jets, based in Estonia, were deployed under Nato\u2019s Baltic Air Policing mission to escort the aircraft out.<\/p>\n

The government said the Russian jets had no flight plans, had their transponders turned off and also did not have two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic control.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s defence ministry said the jets were on a \u201cscheduled flight\u2026 in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring\u201d.<\/p>\n

It said they flew over neutral Baltic waters, more than 3km (two miles) from Vaindloo Island, which belongs to Estonia.<\/p>\n

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n

President Trump has been leading efforts to end the conflict \u2013 most recently by inviting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to Alaska for a summit.<\/p>\n

But Putin\u2019s forces have rejected calls for a ceasefire. They have intensified air attacks, as well as making slow progress on the ground.<\/p>\n

Estonia\u2019s prime minister said the Russian incursion showed its war of aggression in Ukraine was not proceeding as the Kremlin had planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aim is to draw attention and assistance away from Ukraine by forcing Nato countries to focus more on the defence of their own territories,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"Estonia<\/figure>\n

Last week,\u00a0Poland\u2019s military said it had shot down at least three Russian drones,\u00a0with prime minister Donald Tusk saying 19 drones were recorded entering Polish airspace.<\/p>\n

Russia insisted the incident was not deliberate, and its defence ministry said there had been \u201cno plans\u201d to target facilities on Polish soil.<\/p>\n

Belarus, a close Russian ally, said the drones entered Polish airspace accidentally after their navigation systems were jammed.<\/p>\n

Several days later,\u00a0Romania\u2019s defence ministry said it had detected a Russian drone\u00a0when two F-16 jets were monitoring the country\u2019s border with Ukraine, after \u201cRussian air attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube [river]\u201d.<\/p>\n

The ministry said the drone later disappeared from the radar.<\/p>\n

Russia has not commented on the issue.<\/p>\n

In response to Russia\u2019s incursions into Poland and Romania,\u00a0Nato pledged to move troops and fighter jets eastwards.<\/p>\n

Planes from the UK, France, Germany and Denmark are all taking part in air defence missions over Poland in a bid to bolster the alliance\u2019s eastern flank.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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