NATO intercepted three Russian jets that violated Estonia’s airspace on Friday, the country’s foreign ministry and an alliance spokesperson said.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes, the Estonian foreign ministry said.
Italian F-35 fighters that were stationed in Estonia as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry operation, in addition to Swedish and Finnish aircraft, responded to the intrusion, NATO Allied Command Operations headquarters said.
Estonian Prime Minister Krisen Michal said the Russian jets were subsequently “forced to flee.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the alliance’s response as “quick and decisive.”
Estonia has requested NATO Article 4 consultations following the “totally unacceptable” violation, Michal said. NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the North Atlantic Council will convene early next week to discuss the incident in more detail.
Article 4 of the NATO treaty states that any member country can formally bring an issue to the attention of the council, the alliance’s principal decision-making body, to meet and discuss next steps when the territorial integrity, political independence or security of the member country is threatened.
Poland triggered such a consultation after several Russian drones and fighter jets entered its airspace last week.
The Estonian foreign ministry said it had summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires over the incident.
Hours later, Poland’s border guard reported that two Russian fighter jets conducted a “low-level pass” over an oil platform in the Baltic Sea owned by the Polish oil company Petrobaltic.
“Polish security services are constantly monitoring the situation,” the border guard said.
‘Unprecedentedly brazen’
The instances are the latest cases of NATO member countries reporting airspace violations by Russian jets and drones in recent days.
“Russia has already violated Estonia’s airspace four times this year, which in itself is unacceptable. But today’s incursion, involving three fighter aircraft entering our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.
“Russia’s increasingly extensive testing of boundaries and growing aggressiveness must be met with a swift increase in political and economic pressure,” Tsahkna said.
Romania’s foreign minister Oana Toiu told CNN’s Isa Soares that she had spoken to her Estonian counterpart about the incident.
“We are clear on the fact that it is unacceptable,” Toiu said. “Russia is trying to undermine NATO’s coherence, but I think they’re achieving the exact opposite.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the violation part of a “systematic Russian campaign directed against Europe, against NATO, against the West.”
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, condemned the incident on Friday as an “extremely dangerous provocation.”
“This marks the third such violation of EU airspace in days and further escalates tensions in the region,” Kallas wrote on X. “The EU stands in full solidarity with Estonia.”
Kallas said she was in close contact with the Estonian government. “Putin is testing the West’s resolve. We must not show weakness,” she added.
Calls for more sanctions
Earlier Friday, the European Commission proposed a fresh round of sanctions against Russia, citing, among other things, the violation of EU airspace.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed for EU states to approve the sanctions to place additional pressure on Moscow.
“We will respond to every provocation with determination while investing in a stronger Eastern flank. As threats escalate, so too will our pressure,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK supports Estonia and emphasized the need to “increase pressure on Putin, including driving forward the important new economic sanctions.”
The incident on Friday comes after Russian drones violated both Polish and Romanian airspaces earlier this month – prompting NATO allies to pledge to beef up defenses on the alliance’s eastern flank.
Last Wednesday, NATO fighter jets shot down multiple Russian drones that violated Polish airspace during an attack on neighboring Ukraine.
The operation marked the first time that shots were fired by NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine. The military alliance denounced Moscow for “absolutely dangerous” behavior.
On Sunday, Romania’s airspace was breached by a Russian drone, prompting Bucharest to scramble fighter jets.
The two F-16 jets came close to downing the drone but pilots decided not to open fire after assessing the collateral risks.
CNN’s Antonia Mortensen and Victoria Butenko contributed to this report.
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