Russia insisted that its fighter jets only flew over neutral waters on Saturday, refuting claims that three of them had breached Estonian airspace on Friday.
On Friday, Tallinn reported that three MiG-31 fighter jets had entered its airspace over the Gulf of Finland and remained there for 12 minutes until being forced to leave by Italian F-35s.About 100 miles from the capital, close to Vaindloo Island, the incursion occurred.
The planes transponders were turned off, they did not communicate with air traffic control, and officials added that they did not file flight plans. In protest, Estonia called in a Russian diplomat.
“Russia has violated Estonian airspace four times already this year, which is unacceptable in itself, but today’s violation, during which three fighter jets entered our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen,” said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who described the incident as “unprecedentedly brazen,” according to Reuters.
The charges were denied by the Russian defence ministry. It stated that the Russian aircraft did not breach Estonian airspace or stray from the prearranged flight path during the mission.
Moscow claims that the aircraft were travelling "over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea" from northwest Russia to Kaliningrad.
The ministry posted on Telegram, "The flight was conducted in strict compliance with international regulations governing airspace with no violation of other states' borders as is confirmed by independent checks."
NATO acknowledged that its planes had intercepted the Russian plane. Russian aircraft breached Estonian airspace earlier today.
NATO reacted right away and stopped the Russian plane. "This is just another instance of Russia's careless actions and NATO's capacity to react," a spokeswoman posted on X.
President Donald Trump of the UnitedStates claimed he had not yet received a briefing on the incident. "I don't adore it.
When it occurs, I don't like it," he said to reporters. "There might be serious issues. I will inform you later.
