Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated that Estonia is seeking Article 4 consultations in response to Russia’s provocations.
“Such a violation is completely unacceptable, and NATO’s response to any provocation must be united and strong. We consider it essential to consult with our Allies to ensure shared situational awareness and to agree on our next joint steps. The entire Alliance is treating this incident seriously,” the Prime Minister said.
“The border violation took place over the Gulf of Finland. Russian fighter jets remained in Estonian airspace for a total of 12 minutes,” Michal explained. “The situation was under control. NATO fighters responded, and the Russian aircraft were forced to withdraw,” he added.
The Russian aircraft entered Estonian airspace from the northeast. Over the Gulf of Finland, they were intercepted by Finnish jets. Once inside Estonian airspace, Italian Air Force F-35s deployed at Ämari under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission took over and escorted the Russian aircraft out of Estonian airspace. The Russian planes had no flight plans, their transponders were switched off, and at the time of the violation they also lacked two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic control.
According to the Prime Minister, such a provocative act by Russia shows that the war of aggression launched by the Kremlin’s rulers in Ukraine is not proceeding as planned. “The aim is to draw attention and assistance away from Ukraine by forcing NATO countries to focus more on the defence of their own territories,” Michal said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna stressed that Estonia will not face such violations in isolation. “We must ensure together with our Allies that Moscow understands we will neither ignore such actions nor confront them alone. This incident once again demonstrated that Allied air policing works and NATO fighters responded quickly to the violation. However, due to Russia’s increasingly frequent provocations, we consider it necessary to request NATO Article 4 consultations in order to discuss the Alliance’s next steps,” Tsahkna noted.
Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur called the violation of Estonian airspace “absolutely unacceptable.”
“Russia continues its war in Ukraine and is acting with increasing aggressiveness toward Estonia and NATO’s entire eastern flank, as recent events in Poland and Romania also illustrate. NATO’s defence mechanisms worked. The Alliance responded decisively, with Italian fighters stationed in Estonia scrambling immediately and forcing the intruders out of Estonian airspace. This incident underscores the importance of NATO’s recently launched vigilance measure Eastern Sentry, which must strengthen Allied air defence across the entire eastern flank,” Pevkur said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Russian Federation in Estonia to deliver a protest and hand over a diplomatic note concerning the airspace violation.
This incident comes amid a series of recent Russian airspace violations against NATO countries. In the past week, a Russian attack drone flew for nearly an hour over Romanian territory. At the same time, fighter jets in Poland were scrambled after drones entered its airspace, prompting a two-hour civilian warning. Wreckage from a Russian attack drone was also found off Latvia’s western coast.
Last week, Poland and its NATO Allies scrambled fighters to shoot down Russian drones that entered Polish airspace. This was the first such incident since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine three and a half years ago.
