Russian jets ignored signals from NATO pilots when entering Estonia_s airspace, officials say

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Russian pilots ignored signals from Italian planes responding to NATO's Baltic airspace patrol mission when they violated Estonian airspace, a senior Estonian military official said Saturday.

The 12-minute incursion was another test of the alliance's ability to respond to Russian aerial threats, according to the Associated Press, after about 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace a little more than a week ago.

Russia's Defense Ministry denied on Saturday that its planes had entered Estonian airspace after Tallinn said three fighter jets crossed its territory without permission on Friday.

Estonian officials rejected that denial, saying the violation was confirmed by radar and visual contact, and suggested it could be a tactic to divert Western resources away from Ukraine.

The Estonian military said Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace between 9:58 and 10:10 a.m. local time on Friday near Vaindloo Island, a small island located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea.

The Estonian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was the fourth Russian airspace violation this year.

It “still needs to be confirmed” whether the border violation was intentional or not, Colonel Ants Kiviselg, commander of the Estonian Military Intelligence Center, told the Associated Press.

Despite this, he said, the Russian planes “probably knew they were in [Estonian] airspace.”

The Russian pilots “confirmed” some of the information from the Italian pilots flying the F-35s, but “didn’t really follow the signs,” which is partly why they stayed in Estonian airspace for so long, Kiviselg said.

“Why they didn’t do that is a question for the Russian pilots,” he added.

He said the Russian planes had come from an airfield near the city of Petrozavodsk in northwestern Russia and were heading for Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Poland.

They were followed by two Finnish fighter jets before being escorted by two Italian planes that took off from Emari Air Base in Estonia and pursued them in international airspace.

President Donald Trump told reporters that he would be briefed by aides about the intrusion. “I don’t like it,” he said, adding, “I don’t like it when this happens. It could be a big problem, but I’ll let you know later.”

Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s foreign minister, told the AP that the incident was “a very serious violation of NATO airspace.”

The last time Estonian airspace was violated for such a long time was in 2003, he said, “right before Estonia joined NATO.”

The Estonian government responded that it would request consultations under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which allows a member state to formally consult allies whenever their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.

Poland also used this mechanism after its airspace was violated by Russian drones, and NATO subsequently launched the Eastern Sentinel mission to bolster defenses on its eastern flank.