Three Russian fighter jets aggressively breached Estonian airspace for an extraordinary 12 minutes on Friday, an act Estonia’s foreign minister condemned as an “unprecedentedly brazen” intrusion into the NATO nation’s sovereign territory.
The military alliance, NATO, quickly mobilized to intercept the Russian aircraft, with a spokesperson highlighting it as “yet another example of reckless Russian behavior and NATO’s ability to respond.”
This incident follows heightened tensions after a previous incursion where at least 21 Russian drones entered Polish airspace just ten days prior. NATO had scrambled jets to counter those drones, an event Polish officials interpreted as a deliberate test of the alliance’s readiness and a severe escalation of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
While Russia has frequently breached Estonian airspace during NATO’s Baltic Sentry air policing missions, these intrusions have typically been brief. However, Friday’s sustained violation by three MIG-31 fighter jets marked a significantly more prolonged and concerning event, as noted by Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna.
According to an official Estonian government statement, the Russian jets operated without filing flight plans, had their transponders deactivated, and failed to establish radio contact with Estonian air traffic control. Finnish jets initially intercepted the Russian fighters over the Gulf of Finland, with Italian F-35s from the Baltic Sentry mission taking over the escort once they crossed into Estonian airspace.
Foreign Minister Tsahkna emphasized that while Russia has breached Estonian airspace four times this year—an unacceptable frequency in itself—Friday’s incident involving three fighter jets was “unprecedentedly brazen” and served as “clear proof of Russia’s growing aggression.”
Tsahkna urged NATO members to respond by intensifying political and economic pressure on Moscow, stating that Russia’s escalating border provocations demand a firm reaction. In light of the incident, Estonia formally summoned the Russian chargé d’affaires to issue a protest.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced plans to initiate urgent discussions with NATO allies.
Michal formally requested NATO Article 4 consultations, a provision allowing member states to convene official talks regarding perceived threats to their security.
Coincidentally, this Russian airspace violation occurred on the same day an international delegation of business leaders gathered in Narva, a city on Estonia’s border with Russia. They were there for the inauguration of a significant new facility dedicated to producing rare earth magnets, materials increasingly recognized as critical for Western security due to their importance across various industries.
Following the earlier drone incursion over Poland, Russia had claimed the drones were targeting Ukraine and denied any intentional violation of Polish airspace. However, Polish officials remained convinced the act was deliberate, noting that all 21 drones were launched from a distinct location compared to other Russian drones directed at Ukraine.
In response to the Polish incident, NATO had previously announced a new air patrol operation, “Eastern Sentry,” which draws inspiration from the existing “Baltic Sentry” mission. The Baltic Sea operation was expanded in January to include ship patrols, surveillance jets, and drones, following a series of sabotage acts.
NATO officials confirmed that Eastern Sentry would integrate enhanced air patrols, ground-based interceptor systems, advanced sensors, and intensified surveillance capabilities. While initially focused on Poland, the operation can be flexibly redeployed across the region as needed.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently stated that “Russia’s recklessness in the air along our eastern flank is increasing in frequency,” citing recent adversarial drone violations in the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russian aircraft have intruded into Estonian airspace approximately 40 times. However, the frequency of these violations had significantly decreased since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Separately on Friday, the European Union put forth a proposal to accelerate a ban on Russian gas imports by a year, as part of a fresh sanctions package aimed at curbing Moscow’s funding for the war in Ukraine. These proposed sanctions also target companies, banks, and traders in countries like China, India, and other third-party nations accused of aiding Russia in evading existing sanctions.
The proposal requires unanimous approval from all 27 member states, which could be challenging given Hungary’s ongoing dependence on Russian gas. Although Europe has already significantly cut back on Russian pipeline gas, the broader goal is to eliminate liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases from Russia by January 2027. This initiative comes after former President Trump’s recent criticism of European countries for their continued energy dealings with Russia.