Within ten days, it became his third country to denounce a Russian violation of its airspace, following the previous incidents in Poland and Romania. While alliance and Moscow relations are on a stretched rope, three Russian MIG-31 fighter jets flew over 12 minutes above the Vaidlou island located in the Gulf of Finland, resulting in fighters intervening from NATO member states patrolling the area. Russian aircraft invasions are quite common in the area, but they usually do not last as long as Friday’s incident, according to experts.
Specifically, they are parked at the Base of Emari, as they were flying 9 kilometers into the Estonian and, by extension, NATO airspace.
This is the fifth Russian violation in the Baltic country, “something that is unacceptable in itself, but on Friday three fighter aircraft entered our airspace, which is brutal and unprecedented,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margaros.
The incident comes just a week after about twenty Russian drones entered its airspace, also a member of NATO, on the night of September 9th to 10th. Some of the drones were overthrown, and then European officials estimated that Russia was trying their readiness and determination. It was followed by a corresponding category from Romania for the presence of a Russian drone in its airspace. Since then, NATO has reinforced its defensive readiness in its eastern wing against the “threat of Kremlin”. The new mission of the Alliance, called “Eastern Sentry” and a more cohesive defense, began last Friday, two days after drones in Poland. NATO estimates that in the case of Estonia, it worked effectively.
Russian test or unfortunate coincidences?
Despite the ten days of the downfall of Russian drones in Poland, US and Western secret services have not yet been able to determine whether it was a random event or a deliberate attempt by Russia to explore western airlines and evaluate NATO’s reaction, as NATO’s reaction.
Officials who spoke to CNN warned that anyway, the episode is still alarming sign that the Kremlin’s willingness to annoy NATO – perhaps with the risk of escalating the conflict – has increased.
However, the information collected for the drones themselves – their flight pattern and their technical specifications – were considered controversial and difficult to interpret.
Despite Europe’s belief in deliberate energy, President Donald Trump told reporters last week that “it could be done by mistake”, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, responding that we “know” that this is not the case.
CNN reports that it received different answers from US officials with whom it contacted, with one talking about “50-50” chances, while two others said it seemed appropriate.
However, after Friday’s incident in Estonia, European leaders insist that Russia continues to test the boundaries of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Speaking to Reuters anonymously, he commented that “it is difficult to believe that this was not deliberate.”
This is because the Russian aircraft had their transmitters closed and were not in touch with air traffic control. “How do three Russian aircraft fly like 12 minutes in Estonian airspace by mistake?” The American stressed. Analysts pointed out that it could be a coincidence, but one cannot easily ignore the framework – the nearby Russian violations.
In any case, Estonia sees the incident as an immediate threat to its safety and therefore, as well as Poland, requested the extraordinary meeting of the NATO Council on the basis of Article 4 of the Alliance’s founding treaty, which provides for consultations but not the immediate action. It is the 9th time that Article 4 has been activated since the founding of NATO in 1949 – the 2nd within 10 days, and five of them were at the request of Turkey, for threats from Syria and Iraq, between 2003 and 2020.
