Russian pilots ignored signals from Italian jets responding as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission when they violated Estonian airspace, a senior Estonian military official has said. The 12-minute incursion was the latest test of the alliance’s ability to respond to Russian airborne threats, following an incident on September 10 when around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace.
Russia’s Defence Ministry denied that its aircraft flew into Estonia’s airspace after Tallinn reported that three Russian fighter jets crossed into its territory on Friday without permission.
“Why they didn’t do it, that’s a question for the Russian pilots,” said Colonel Ants Kiviselg, commander of Estonia’s Military Intelligence Centre.
Estonian officials dismissed the denial, stating the violation was confirmed by radar and visual contact. They suggested the incursion could be a tactic aimed at drawing Western resources away from Ukraine.
The Russian MiG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace between 9:58 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. local time on Friday in the area of Vaindloo, a small island located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, the Estonian military reported. A ministry statement noted that this was the fourth airspace violation by Russia this year.
“It still needs to be confirmed if the border violation was deliberate or not,” Colonel Ants Kiviselg told The Associated Press from Vaindloo Island.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated that the three MiG-31 jets completed a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airfield in the Kaliningrad region and did not violate the borders of any other states.
Estonian Interior Minister Kristian Jaani dismissed the Russian statement, emphasizing that Estonia and its NATO allies have multiple radars and visual identification systems confirming the entry of Russian jets into the country’s airspace.
Jaani suggested that the root cause of such air violations, hybrid warfare, and cyber attacks might be to distract Western attention from Ukraine.
“Moscow may be trying to provoke NATO nations into deploying additional air defense assets to Estonia in the hope that Kyiv’s allies do more about our own defense and less to support Kyiv,” Jaani said.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/russian-jets-over-estonia-ignored-signals-from-nato-pilots-officials-say-1809360.html