He Estonia Foreign Ministry He denounced that Three Russian Mig-31 fighters violated that country on Friday. The nation, which is a member of the European Union (EU) and of the NATOHe confirmed that they were intercepted by Italian forces.
“The incursion took place on the Gulf of Finland, where Three MIG-31 combat aircraft of the Russian Federation They entered the Estonian Air Space (…) and remained there for a total of 12 minutes, ”said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.
The Estonian Army confirmed that The airplanes were intercepted by Italian F-35 Based on ämari, Estonia, as part of an air monitoring mission on the Baltic Sea.
Three Russian planes entered Estonia and were intercepted by NATO
“Today earlier, Russian fighters raped Estonian airspace. NATO responded immediately and intercepted the Russian aircraft. This is another example of Russia’s recklessness and NATO’s ability to respond, ”said the Transatlantic alliance spokeswoman Alison Hart.
Baltic countries, firm supporters of Ukraine, but without their own combat planes, They trusted the surveillance of their airspace to other NATO allies, They assume this task in turn. Since August, the mission is in charge of Italian aviation.
“Russia has already violated the Estonian Air Space four times this year, which is in itself unacceptable. But today’s incursion, in which three combat planes participated (…) is from An unprecedented carelessness”, Said the Head of Diplomacy Estonia, Margus Tsahkna.
“The growing border test and aggressiveness of Russia must be answered quickly reinforcing political and economic pressure”Added the chancellor.
The Ministry indicated having summoned the business manager of the Russian Embassy to protest this violation. The previous air interference took place on May 13, on June 22 and September 7.
For the EU it was a “provocation”
The head of the EU diplomacy, Kaja kallas, He called the incursion as an “extremely dangerous provocation.” “This is the third rape of this type of EU airspace in days and further aggravates tensions in the region,” he said in X (former Twitter).
“We will continue to support our Member States in strengthening their defenses with European resources. Putin is testing the determination of the West. We should not show ourselves weak”He warned.
For her part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, He also called to increase the sanctions against Russia after the incursion in Estonia.
“We will respond to each provocation with determination, while investing in a stronger eastern flank. As the threats increase, this will also do our pressure. I call on EU leaders to quickly approve our nineteenth packet of sanctions, ”he wrote in X.
The incident is known just over a week after more than 20 Russian -manned planes entered the Polish airspace during the night of September 9 to 10, which took the NATO airplanes for the first time to tear down some of them and Western officials to say that Russia was testing the preparation and determination of the alliance.
Estonia, Firm defender of Ukraine, he had said in May that Moscow had briefly sent a plane to combat the NATO airspace on the Baltic Sea during what was an attempt to stop a Russian oil tanker who believed that it was part of a “fleet in the shadow” that challenges Western sanctions to Moscow.
Source: Ambito
