NATO allies condemned Russia’s violation of Estonia’s airspace, the third provocative intrusion by Kremlin air assets in recent days, with the Western military alliance setting a meeting of its North Atlantic Council to discuss the deepening crisis.
“I’ve just spoken with the Estonian PM Kristen Michal about the Russian airspace violation today,” NATO chief Mark Rutte said on social media on September 19.
“NATO’s response…was quick and decisive,” he added, referring to the deployment of alliance jets after the small Baltic nation reported that three Russian MiG-31 fighter aircraft entered its airspace.
Colonel Martin O’Donnell, spokesman for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, said that “NATO quickly responded under Eastern Sentry, scrambling Italian F025 fighter jets based in Estonia.”
“Sweden and Finland also scrambled their quick-reaction aircraft,” O’Donnell said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry later denied its aircraft had violated Estonian airspace, saying the planes were on a “scheduled flight…in strict compliance with international airspace regulations.”
No Flight Plans, Transponders ‘Switched Off’
The Estonian military said the jets remained in national airspace for 12 minutes in the Vaindloo Island area without permission.
“The fighter jets did not have flight plans, and their transponders were switched off,” the military said. “At the time of the airspace violation, the fighter jets did not have two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic control.”
Michal said his government had requested the invoking of NATO’s Article 4, which sets a mandatory meeting of alliance members but is short of the more serious Article 5.
Article 4 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.”
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry also summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to “lodge a protest and deliver a note of concern” over the incident.
“I would say that NATO’s air defense worked — the planes left, forced the Russian planes to leave. But to be in Estonian airspace for such a long time is, of course, at least malice, if not a planned operation,” Michal said.
US Senators Richard Blumenthal (left) and Lindsey Graham (right), speak at a press conference in Kyiv earlier this year.
In response, NATO said it would conduct a meeting of its North Atlantic Council — the principal political decision-making body within NATO — early next week to discuss Russia’s actions, although a date was not announced.
US President Donald Trump told reporters he would soon be briefed on the reported Russian airspace violation.
“I don’t love it…I don’t like when that happens. It could be big trouble, but I’ll let you know later,” he said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called Russia’s action an “extremely dangerous provocation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits an exhibition at the Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin as part of a 2024 state visit to China.
The incident follows recent incursions by Russian drones in Poland and Romania which — like Estonia — are members of NATO and the European Union. Russia had launched the drones toward Ukraine as part of its full-scale invasion of that country.
Jim Townsend, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Strategy and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, described the incident as a “big incursion” taking into account Estonia’s size and the length of the flight.
“It is very serious stuff,” he told RFE/RL.
He said NATO may need to double the number of aircraft allocated to the Baltic Air Policing mission as pilots can get worn out if they are on high alert for long periods of time.
NATO set up the Baltic Air Policing mission in 2004 to patrol the skies over Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia when the three nations joined Western military alliance.
The mission generally consists of four fighter aircraft — as well as pilots and support staff — from one NATO member and are stationed either in Lithuania or Estonia on a four-month rotational basis.
He also said NATO needs also to accelerate development of drone-countering technology to protect Eastern member states from potential attack.
Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, told RFE/RL that “I do expect them [Russian airspace violations] to continue until there’s some sort of forceful act — until NATO makes the conditions…to the point where any risk that Russia might have to incur by doing these incursions isn’t worth it.”
“I think this is just part of the broader strategy by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to defy Trump and at the same time make division inside the alliance more noticeable,” Coffee said.
NATO on September 12 announced an effort to bolster defenses in its so-called eastern flank, launching an “activity,” dubbed Eastern Sentry, that would deploy additional military hardware from Britain, Denmark, France, and Germany to deter potential Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy Calls Airspace Violation ‘Outrageous’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia for intensifying tensions after the jets violated Estonian airspace, calling the action “outrageous” and “destabilizing.”
“These are not accidents. This is a systematic Russian campaign directed against Europe, against NATO, against the West. And it requires a systemic response,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
“Strong action must be taken,” he added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned the earlier drone incursions while announcing proposals for the EU’s latest sanctions package.
“Again and again, President Putin has escalated, and in response, Europe is increasing its pressure,” she said.
(RFE/RL)
