Estonian government requests NATO Article 4 talks after Russian airspace violation, PM says

Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on Friday evening that the government has requested NATO Article 4 consultations with the alliance's allies following an airspace violation by Russian jets.

"This morning, 3 Russian Mig-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace. NATO fighters responded and the Russian planes were forced to flee," Michal wrote in a post on X.

"Such violation is totally unacceptable."

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the jets entered Estonian airspace and lingered over the Gulf of Finland for 12 minutes.

The Russian charge d’affaires was summoned and given a protest note, he added.

The jets lacked two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic control and had no flight plans, domestic media reported.

"Russia's ever-increasing testing of borders and aggressiveness must be responded to by rapidly strengthening political and economic pressure," Tsahkna said.

"Russia has already violated Estonia's airspace four times this year, which is unacceptable in itself," Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told domestic outlets.

"But today's incursion, involving three fighter jets entering our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen."

Russian officials did not immediately comment on the incident, which was met with swift condemnation from the EU's Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"Today's violation of Estonia's airspace by Russian military aircraft is an extremely dangerous provocation," Kallas wrote in a post on X.

"Europe stands with Estonia in the face of Russia’s latest violation of our airspace," von der Leyen said, calling on EU member states to approve a 19th sanctions package against Moscow.

Estonia is the third NATO member country to report such an incursion over the past few weeks, following similar incidents in Poland and Romania.

'Unprecedented violation'

The incident comes just over a week after Poland said at least 20 Russian drones entered its airspace before being shot down by the military in an "unprecedented violation."

In responding to the incursion, Poland became the first NATO country to directly engage with Russian assets since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The event was met with widespread condemnation from Poland's European allies, who said it was evidence that Russia was testing the limits of the NATO alliance. Poland's Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, said that that the incursion was intentional.

NATO allies vowed to beef up security along the alliance's eastern flank following the incident which the head of the alliance, Mark Rutte, called "crucial to counter aggression and defend every member of the Alliance."

Earlier on Friday, the head of the UK's Secret Intelligence Service, said there was "no evidence" Russian President Vladimir Putin was interested in peace in Ukraine.

His comments come despite US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire between the two countries.

"Putin has sought to convince the world that Russian victory is inevitable. But he lies. He lies to the world. He lies to his people. Perhaps he even lies to himself," Moore told a news conference.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has called for the joint protection of European skies and for increased investment into its domestic weapons production to ward off Russian attacks.