The Estonian Foreign Ministry has summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires in the country to protest and deliver a note over the violation of the country’s airspace, the ministry said on 19 September.
According to the Foreign Ministry, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without authorisation and stayed there for a total of 12 minutes.
According to Minister Margus Tsahkna, this is the fourth time since the beginning of the year that Russia has violated Estonian airspace, but today’s incident is “unprecedentedly audacious.”
“Russia’s increasingly large-scale testing of borders and growing aggressiveness must be met with a response in the form of rapidly intensifying political and economic pressure,” Tsahkna said.
The Estonian armed forces also reported an airspace violation, the Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the situation.
On 13 September, the Estonian Defence Forces reported a temporary ban on flights along the country’s entire eastern border, explaining the decision by the increased activity of Russian troops and the use of Ukrainian drones in the Leningrad region.
On 8 September, Estonia summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires in Tallinn to protest after a Russian Mi-8 helicopter violated Estonian airspace near the island of Vaindloo.