Estonia invokes Nato talks after Russian jets enter its airspace

Shiva K Dhakal
NAtional Press Corporation(NPC)
United Kingdom-Estonia has called for urgent Nato consultations after accusing Russian fighter jets of breaching its airspace over the Gulf of Finland.

The Estonian government said three Russian MiG-31 jets entered its skies without clearance and stayed for 12 minutes on Friday. The aircraft were intercepted by Finnish jets before Italian F-35s, based in Estonia, escorted them out as part of Nato’s Baltic Air Policing mission.

Officials said the Russian planes had no flight plans, had their transponders switched off and failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control.

Moscow has rejected the allegations, insisting the jets were on a routine flight in international airspace and did not cross into Estonian territory.

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal urged a united response from allies: “We consider it essential to consult with our allies to ensure shared situational awareness and agree on our next joint steps.”

Under Article 4 of the Nato treaty, any member can request consultations when it feels its security is threatened. This is the second such request this month, after Poland invoked Article 4 when Russian drones entered its airspace on 10 September.

Nato called the incident “another example of reckless Russian behaviour” and highlighted its readiness to defend the alliance’s eastern flank.

The US president, Donald Trump, also commented: “I don’t love it. I don’t like when that happens. Could be big trouble.”

Estonia, which borders Russia, says this was the fifth violation of its airspace this year.