Russia denies violating Estonian airspace

Citing Article 4 of the NATO treaty, Estonia has called for an urgent consultation of member states after claiming that Russia violated their airspace on Friday. 

NATO described it as a "blatant" provocation, while Russia denied the accusations.

"It was a very clear provocation. That is why we are calling for political consultations under Article 4," said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakna. "Let's discuss what we can do for the Baltic states and the eastern flank because it is clear that Putin has started a new level of provocation and testing of NATO," he added.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation denied the accusation and released the following message:

"Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets completed a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airfield in the Kaliningrad Region. The flight was conducted in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring. Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed-upon air route and did not violate Estonian airspace."

The EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, said Russia was testing NATO.

The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs issued a message strongly condemning the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian military aircraft.

"Such actions and provocations pose a serious threat. We express our full support and solidarity with Estonia and, together with our Allies, remain firmly committed to safeguarding our common European and Euro-Atlantic security," wrote the Ministry on X.