Vilnius: NATO said that it intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes, calling the incursion reckless and unprecedentedly brazen.
The episode marks one of the most serious airspace breaches on the alliance’s eastern border in recent years and comes days after Russian drones entered Polish territory.
Russian military aircraft once again violated NATO airspace—this time over Estonia. Outrageous. Russia’s destabilizing activity is expanding into new countries and directions. They use every tool: from interference in political processes, as in Romania and Moldova, to violations…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 19, 2025
The Estonian Defence Forces said the Russian fighters entered airspace near Vaindloo island in the Gulf of Finland without flight plans, with transponders turned off and no communication with air traffic control. Italian F-35 jets stationed at Estonia’s Ämari Air Base intercepted the aircraft as part of NATO’s Baltic air policing mission.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna condemned the incident, saying Russia has already violated Estonia’s airspace four times this year, but Friday’s breach was “unprecedentedly brazen.” He added that, “Russia’s increasingly extensive testing of boundaries must be met with a swift increase in political and economic pressure.”
This morning 3 Russian MiG-31s violated 🇪🇪 airspace over the Gulf of Finland. NATO 🇮🇹 fighters responded swiftly & escorted them them out.
This is a grave & unacceptable provocation. 🇪🇪 has requested NATO Article 4 consultations. Our response must be united & firm.
Grateful to…
— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) September 19, 2025
European leaders denounced the violation. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called it an extremely dangerous provocation, while Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed that Europe stands with Estonia and will respond to every provocation with determination. She pressed member states to approve the bloc’s 19th sanctions package against Moscow.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed Tallinn has invoked Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, which provides for consultations when any member believes its security is under threat. NATO said the North Atlantic Council will convene early next week.
Earlier today, Russian jets violated Estonian airspace. NATO responded immediately and intercepted the Russian aircraft. This is yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and NATO’s ability to respond.
— NATO Spokesperson (@NATOpress) September 19, 2025
“This is not an isolated case but part of a growing pattern,” said alliance spokesperson Allison Hart, pointing to Russia’s drone incursion into Poland earlier this month.
Russia’s Defence Ministry denied its aircraft entered Estonian airspace, insisting the MiG-31s were on a routine flight from Karelia to Kaliningrad and remained over neutral waters, more than three kilometers from Vaindloo island.
🔴 @mod_russia: On September 19, 2025, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets made a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airfield in the Kaliningrad region.
The flight was conducted in strict accordance with the International Rules for the Use of Airspace, without violating the… pic.twitter.com/dlA7Re2uXW
— Russia in Israel (@israel_mid_ru) September 20, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s actions outrageous and warned that they require a systemic response from allies.
Airspace incursions in the Baltic region are not rare, but officials noted the 12-minute violation was significantly longer than typical episodes. Combined with the earlier Polish drone incident, Western officials fear Moscow is deliberately escalating tensions to undermine alliance unity.
The European Council president, António Costa, said EU leaders will discuss a collective response at their October 1 meeting in Copenhagen. “Today’s violation of Estonian airspace by Russian military aircraft is another unacceptable provocation,” he wrote on X.
