The Estonian Government decried “an unprecedented and brazen intrusion” on Friday after a flight of three Russian fighter jets entered the airspace of the NATO member state, prompting an interceptor scramble.
Estonian minister of foreign affairs Margus Tsahkna said the government had summoned the top Russian diplomat in the country to receive a protest and diplomatic note after three MiG-31 fast jets entered and loitered in Estonian airspace on Friday morning.
The aircraft were detected near Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland in the eastern Baltic sea. The island is the northernmost part of Estonia and is home to a radar station.
According to a report from Estonian state broadcaster ERR, the three jets were flying dark with their transponders off, had not filed a flight plan with the Estonian authorities, and did not communicate with Estonian air traffic control by radio. They spent 12 minutes in Estonian air space and triggered the launch of NATO F-35s from an airbase 85 miles to the south-west to intercept and escort the jets away.
Tsahkna acknowleged that while Russian aircraft have been detected in Estonian airspace before, the scale and duration of this incursion was unusual. He said on Friday afternoon: “This is an unprecedented and brazen intrusion — clear proof of Russia’s growing aggression”. The minister said such acts could not be tolerated and called for a response, presumably from the international community, saying: “Russia’s growing attempts to test borders and its increasing aggression must be met with a swift intensification of political and economic pressure”.
Estonia has a land border with Russia and both nations, along with Finland, have territorial waters in the Gulf of Finland, with a narrow strip of international waters along the centre making for a shipping lane free for all to use.
As reported, there has been an intensification of Russian aircraft straying into NATO airspace in the past fortnight, with incursions into Estonian, Romanian, and Polish airspace. Some European nations have called these flights deliberate provocations and probing missions by Russian forces feeling out what Western response times are. Poland in particular has been forthright in its comments, asserting they have definite proof a group of Russian drones that entered their airspace had been sent there with purpose, and hadn’t simply got lost.
Poland’s foreign minister Radoslav ‘Radek’ Sikorski spoke out in support of Estonia on Friday, saying of the MiG-31s: “Last week Poland, today Estonia. Russia is once again provoking and showing that it is not interested in peace. Poland declares solidarity with Estonia and strongly condemns the violation of its airspace by Russia.”.
The United Kingdom, which said earlier this week it was responding to the Russian drone incursion into Poland by deploying its own jet fighters to air policing in Eastern Europe under the NATO banner, also expressed solidarity with Estonia. The British Foreign Secretary said: “The UK stands with our Estonian allies, following yet another reckless incursion into NATO airspace by Russia. We must continue to increase pressure on Putin, including driving forward the important new economic sanctions announced by the UK & EU in recent days.”
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