Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said a Russian fighter jet entered Estonian airspace on the 18th of March, prompting NATO’s Baltic Air Policing to respond, Reuters reports.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry said it was the first time this year that Russia had violated Estonian airspace. The violation occurred near Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland, off Estonia’s northern coast. The Russian SU-30 fighter jet entered Estonian airspace and remained there for about a minute.
Tsahkna said there was no threat to Estonia’s security.
NATO’s Baltic Air Policing responded quickly to the violation,
and Italian Air Force fighters took to the air.
Last September, Estonia reported an unprecedentedly reckless violation of airspace when three Russian fighter jets spent 12 minutes in Estonian airspace. Moscow insisted at the time that this was false information.
Following the breach on the 18th of March, the Estonian Foreign Ministry summoned the head of the Russian diplomatic mission for talks. The Russian embassy in Estonia did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.
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