On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) issued a sharp rebuke to Russia, demanding an immediate cessation of its escalating airspace violations along the alliance’s eastern border. This strong warning came after emergency discussions regarding a recent jet incursion over Estonia last week.
In a unified statement, NATO’s 32 member nations emphasized, “Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop.” The alliance underscored the serious implications of these continuous breaches.
NATO made it unequivocally clear that it “will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats from all directions.” This serves as a stark reminder of the alliance’s resolve.
The statement further asserted NATO’s intention to “continue to respond in the manner, timing, and domain of our choosing,” reiterating that its commitment to the collective defense pact remains “ironclad” and unwavering.
These emergency consultations were triggered by Estonia, invoking Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, after armed Russian fighter jets intruded into its airspace for approximately 12 minutes on Friday, September 19, 2025.
The Estonian incident, which necessitated NATO scrambling its jets, occurred barely a week after Russian drones were shot down over Poland, prompting Warsaw to also request similar urgent talks.
Following the drone attack in Poland, NATO had already declared its plans to reinforce its eastern defenses, specifically to counteract the perceived threat emanating from Moscow.
Beyond Poland and Romania, several other nations on NATO’s eastern flank, such as Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland, have also reported recent airspace violations, highlighting a disturbing pattern.
This alarming surge in tensions has heightened concerns that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine could potentially spill over into NATO territory.
The NATO nations firmly pledged that “allies will not be deterred by these and other irresponsible acts by Russia from their enduring commitments to support Ukraine,” reaffirming their unwavering solidarity with Kyiv.
Article 4 of NATO’s foundational treaty allows any member state to initiate emergency discussions if it perceives a threat to its “territorial integrity, political independence or security.”
Tuesday’s discussions marked the third invocation of Article 4 since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, and only the ninth time it has been triggered in the alliance’s 79-year history, underscoring the gravity of the current situation.
The cornerstone of NATO’s collective security is Article 5, which stipulates that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, obligating the entire alliance to come to its defense.
Historically, Article 5 has only been invoked once, in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.