Russian fighters that intruded into Estonian airspace ignored signals from Italian aircraft on NATO's Baltic patrol mission. According to the Estonian military, three MiG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace between 9:58 and 10:10 AM in the area of Vainloo Island in the Gulf of Finland. This is the fourth such incident this year.
Colonel Ants Kivisild, commander of the Estonian Military Intelligence Center, stated: 'It still needs to be confirmed whether the border violation was intentional or not. Nevertheless, the Russian aircraft were apparently aware that they were in (Estonian) airspace.'
According to him, the Russian planes did not pose a direct threat, however they ignored signals from NATO pilots. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky considers this violation part of Russia's campaign to destabilize Western countries.
Reactions from the US president and the statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense
US President Donald Trump stated that he would be briefed on the incident. He replied that 'he does not like it.' The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that Russian MiG-31 fighters did not violate Estonia's airspace during a planned flight from Karelia to the Kaliningrad region.
It has been reported that Russian fighters violated Estonian airspace, ignoring NATO signals, which caused reactions from the leadership of various countries, including the Presidents of Ukraine and the United States. The Russian Ministry of Defense, in turn, denies these accusations, asserting that the aircraft did not violate the airspace of the country.