The incident occurred in the afternoon of March 18. The fighter jet remained in Estonian airspace for about a minute, had no flight plan and did not maintain radio contact with Estonia’s aviation authorities.
A unit of the Italian Air Force, stationed at Amari air base as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, responded оперативно to the airspace violation, Estonia’s Defense Forces General Staff said.
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry on March 19, summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to lodge a protest and hand over a note regarding the violation of the country’s airspace.
This is the first violation of Estonia’s airspace by a Russian aircraft this year.
Ukraine strongly condemned the latest violation of Estonia’s airspace and said there should be zero tolerance for such provocations, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
The Ukrainian foreign minister said Russia’s repeated violations of NATO airspace are further evidence that its aggression extends far beyond Ukraine.
“We strongly condemn this reckless act and express full solidarity with Estonia. There must be zero tolerance for such provocations,” Sybiha said.
He added that Russia must face constant pressure and be held accountable for its actions, and that allies must remain united in defending collective security.
In 2025, Russia repeatedly violated the airspace of NATO member states. Since September, Russian drones and aircraft, as well as unidentified UAVs, have been recorded over Poland, Romania, Estonia, Denmark, the United States, France, Germany and other countries.
On Sept. 23, at a joint press conference in New York with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump said NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace.
On Sept. 26, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said threats by NATO countries to shoot down Russian aircraft are “dangerous in their consequences.”