The NATO, the Western Military Alliance, intercepted three Russian jets that violated Estonia’s airspace on Friday (19), the group’s Foreign Ministry and a group spokesman said.
Three Mig-31 Russian fighters entered Estonian airspace over Finland’s Gulf without permission and remained there for 12 minutes, Estonia said.
Italian F-35 fighters that were parked in the country as part of OTAN’s Eastern Sentinel Operation, as well as Swedish and Finnish aircraft, responded to the intrusion, said the NATA’s Allied Operations Command.
Estonian Prime Minister Krisen Michal,
Estonia will request consultations according to Article 4 of the Military Alliance after the case, which Michal stressed to be “totally unacceptable.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported from the incident.
Hours later, the Polish border guard reported that two Russian fighters made a “shallow passage” over a Baltic Oil Platform, owned by the Polish oil Petrobaltic.
“Polish security services are constantly monitoring the situation,” the institution said.
Margus Tsahkna, Estonian Chancellor, stressed that “Russia has violated Estonia’s airspace four times this year, which in itself is unacceptable. But today’s foray involving three fighters entering our airspace, it is of an unprecedented audacity.”
“The increasingly comprehensive border tests and Russia’s growing aggressiveness should be faced with a rapid increase in political and economic pressure,” said Tsahkna.
NATO spokesman Allison Hart classified the case as “another example of Russia’s reckless behavior and NATO’s response capacity.”
