LONDON, Sept 20: Estonia has requested urgent Nato consultations after three Russian MiG-31 jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes over the Gulf of Finland, the BBC reported. The foreign ministry called the act “brazen” and said it had summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires to file a protest, according to the BBC.
NATO said its fighter jets responded immediately, intercepting the Russian aircraft, and described the event as another case of reckless Russian behaviour, the BBC said. Italy, Finland and Sweden scrambled jets as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, the BBC noted. Estonia stated that the Russian planes had no flight plans, kept their transponders switched off and failed to communicate with air traffic control, the BBC reported. Russia denied any violation, insisting the jets stayed over neutral Baltic waters more than 3 km from Estonian territory, the BBC said.
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Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Estonia had triggered NATO’s Article 4, which calls for consultations among the alliance’s 32 members, the BBC wrote. He said NATO must deliver a united and strong response and agree on next steps after reviewing the situation together, the BBC reported. This is the second Article 4 request in a week, after Poland sought one following Russian drones entering its airspace, the BBC noted.
Estonia’s defence minister Hanno Pevkur told the BBC that it was unprecedented for Russian aircraft to remain in Estonian skies for so long and said escorting them out was the only proper response. He warned that Moscow was trying to divert NATO’s focus away from supporting Ukraine by forcing member states to spend more resources defending their own borders, the BBC reported.
European leaders condemned the violation, the BBC said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called it “an extremely dangerous provocation” and urged Europe not to show weakness, the BBC wrote. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would respond firmly while investing in stronger eastern defences, the BBC reported. Estonia’s ambassador to the UK Sven Sakkov told the BBC that NATO must take “clear, practical steps” to protect airspace over its eastern flank.
The BBC reported that the incident comes amid rising tensions on NATO’s borders. Poland recently said it shot down three Russian drones after 19 entered its airspace, while Romania detected another drone near its frontier with Ukraine during Russian strikes on the Danube, the BBC noted. NATO has since moved troops and fighter jets eastward, with UK, French, German and Danish planes now flying patrols, the BBC said.
On Monday, a French jet was scrambled after another suspected drone incursion, but the alert ended quickly, the BBC reported. Nato officials said these actions show the alliance is prepared to defend its members from any threat, the BBC added.
