Three Russian fighter jets have violated Estonia’s airspace in an ‘unprecedentedly brazen’ incursion onto NATO territory.
Estonia’s foreign minister said the MiG-31 military planes, capable of carrying hypersonic missiles, intruded for 12 minutes – during which time they could have traversed broad swathes of the country.
NATO scrambled Italian F-35s stationed at a base there to intercept them.
The incursion happened just over a week after NATO planes downed Russian drones over Poland and heightened fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia violated Estonian airspace four times this year ‘but today’s incursion, involving three fighter aircraft entering our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen’.
Russia’s violation of Poland’s airspace was the most serious cross-border incident into a NATO member country since the war in Ukraine began with Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022. Other alliance countries have reported similar incursions and drone crashes on their territory.
The developments have increasingly rattled European governments as US -led efforts to stop the war in Ukraine have come to nothing.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas – a former Estonian prime minister – said: ‘This was no accident.’
She said: ‘On our side, we see that we must show no weakness because weakness is something that invites Russia to do more.
‘They are increasingly more dangerous — not only to Ukraine, but also to all the countries around Russia.’
Estonia, along with fellow Baltic states Lithuania and Latvia and neighboring Poland, are staunch supporters of Ukraine.
Current Estonian PM Kristen Michal said his country had decided to ask NATO to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance’s treaty.
Article 4, the shortest of the NATO treaty’s 14 articles, states that: ‘The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.’
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK ‘stands with’ Estonia after the breach.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: ‘This is yet another edition of the Putin playbook. Russia’s latest reckless and dangerous activity is the third violation of NATO airspace in recent days.
‘But Putin’s aggression only serves to strengthen the unity of NATO and our resolve to stand with Ukraine.
‘We are stepping up within NATO to contribute fighter jets to the new Eastern Sentry mission, strengthening Nato air defence on our eastern flank.
‘And we continue to support Estonia closely, including through our deployment of around 1,000 UK armed forces personnel under Operation Cabrit.’
Earlier, the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency said there is ‘absolutely no evidence’ that Vladimir Putin wants to negotiate peace in Ukraine.
Richard Moore, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6 as it is more commonly known, said Putin was ‘stringing us along’.
‘He seeks to impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal. But he cannot succeed,’ Moore said.
‘Bluntly, Putin has bitten off more than he can chew. He thought he was going to win an easy victory. But he — and many others — underestimated the Ukrainians.’
The war has continued unabated in the three years since Russia invaded its neighbor. Ukraine has accepted proposals for a ceasefire and a summit meeting, but Moscow has demurred.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday during a state visit to the UK that Putin ‘has really let me down’ in peace efforts.
Trump’s administration was being closely watched for a response.
Washington had had little to say about last week’s drone incursion into Poland and did not participate directly in fending it off, triggering deep anxiety among NATO members, who have questioned Trump’s commitment to their defence in case of a Russian attack.
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