Estonia’s government said the aircraft entered and remained in its airspace without clearance, prompting Tallinn to lodge a formal protest with the highest-ranking Russian diplomat accredited in the country. NATO sources confirmed the incident.
Estonia’s defense minister called the episode “unprecedentedly brutal.” Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia has violated Estonia’s airspace four times this year, calling that “unacceptable,” and described Friday’s intrusion by three fighters as “unprecedentedly brazen.”
He urged a rapid increase in political and economic pressure on Moscow. Estonia summoned the Russian chargé d’affaires to deliver a protest and a diplomatic note.
The incident followed an earlier breach on the alliance’s eastern flank. Poland’s Operational Command said 21 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace on the night of September 9–10, calling it “an act of aggression that created a real threat to the safety of our citizens.” It said drones posing a direct danger were shot down by Polish and allied aircraft.
Estonia has tightened measures in response to rising risks. On September 12, the armed forces ordered a temporary no-fly zone in eastern Estonia to improve responses to potential airspace violations, a step Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur linked to the drone incursion into Poland.
On September 26, public broadcaster ERR reported that an anti-tank ditch stretching several dozen kilometers will be built along the southeastern section of the Estonian-Russian border by the end of 2027, as part of the Baltic Defense Line to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio 24