Russian Fighter Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in Latest NATO Incursion

Three Russian MIG-31 fighter aircraft entered Estonian airspace without permission on Friday, remaining for 12 minutes in what Tallinn described as an “unprecedentedly brazen” violation.

The Estonian foreign ministry summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to lodge a formal protest. Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Moscow had already violated Estonian airspace four times this year, but the scale of Friday’s breach marked a serious escalation.

The incursion occurred over the Gulf of Finland, according to the ministry. “Russia’s increasingly extensive testing of boundaries and growing aggressiveness must be met with a swift increase in political and economic pressure,” Tsahkna said.

The incident follows recent violations of NATO airspace elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Poland reported 19 airspace breaches in a single day earlier this month, shooting down at least three drones, while Romania said a Russian drone entered its territory during strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Estonia, Poland, and Romania are NATO members. Under Article 5 of the alliance’s charter, an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all, though the provision has been invoked only once — after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.