NATO intercepts Russian jets violating Estonian airspace

19 September 2025 , 21:43

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NATO intercepts Russian jets violating Estonian airspace

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.

David Wilson