TALLINN, Estonia (AP) \u2014 Russian pilots ignored signals from Italian jets responding from NATO\u2019s Baltic Air Policing Mission when they violated Estonian airspace, a senior Estonian military official said Saturday. <\/p>\n
The 12-minute incursion<\/a> was the latest test of the alliance\u2019s ability to respond to Russian airborne threats after around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace<\/a> on Sept. 10.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry on Saturday denied its aircraft flew into Estonia\u2019s airspace, after Tallinn reported three fighter jets crossed into its territory on Friday without permission<\/a>. <\/p>\n Estonian officials dismissed the denial, saying the violation was confirmed by radar and visual contact and suggested it could be a tactic to draw Western resources away from Ukraine. <\/p>\n The Russian MIG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace between 9:58 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. local time Friday in the area of Vaindloo, a small island located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, the Estonian military said. A ministry statement said it was the fourth airspace violation by Russia this year. <\/p>\n It still \u201cneeds to be confirmed,\u201d if the border violation was deliberate or not, Col. Ants Kiviselg, the commander of Estonia\u2019s Military Intelligence Center, told The Associated Press. Regardless, he said, the Russian jets \u201cmust have known that they are in (Estonian) airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n The Russian pilots didn\u2019t pose a \u201cmilitary threat,\u201d Kiviselg said.<\/p>\n But although they acknowledged communication from the Italian pilots flying F-35 fighter jets, they apparently ignored it and \u201cdidn\u2019t actually follow the signs,\u201d which is partly why they were in Estonian airspace for so long, he added. <\/p>\n \u201cWhy they didn\u2019t do it, that\u2019s a question for the Russian pilots,\u201d Kiviselg said.<\/p>\n \u2018It could be big trouble\u2019<\/p>\n The Russian jets came from an airfield near the city of Petrozavodsk, in northwestern Russia, and were heading to Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland. They were tracked by two Finnish fighter jets before being escorted by the two Italian jets, which took off from Estonia\u2019s \u00c4mari Air Base and followed them into international skies, Kiviselg said. <\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump responded Friday by telling reporters he will be briefed by aides on the incursion. \u201cI don\u2019t love it,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cI don\u2019t like when that happens. It could be big trouble, but I\u2019ll let you know later.\u201d<\/p>\n Margus Tsahkna, Estonia\u2019s foreign minister, told AP the incident was \u201ca very serious violation of NATO airspace.\u201d The last time Estonian airspace was violated for so long was in 2003, he said, \u201cjust before Estonia joined NATO.\u201d<\/p>\n Estonia\u2019s government responded by saying it would request consultations under Article 4 of NATO\u2019s treaty<\/a> which allows a member to formally consult with allies whenever their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Poland also used the mechanism after its airspace was violated by Russian drones and, after that, NATO launched its Eastern Sentry<\/a> mission to boost defenses along it\u2019s eastern flank.<\/p>\n Posting on X, Lithuania\u2019s Defense Minister Dovil\u0117 \u0160akalien\u0117 suggested NATO member \u201cTurkey set an example\u201d of how to respond to such incidents in 2015 when it shot down a Russian fighter jet which violated its airspace for around 17 seconds.<\/p>\n But that situation was \u201ctotally different,\u201d Hanno Pevkur, Estonia\u2019s defense minister said, adding that the \u201cRussians actually killed Turks,\u201d when Moscow used fighter jets to target what they said were militant groups near the Syrian border with Turkey.<\/a><\/p>\n During Friday\u2019s incident, Estonia and its allies observed the Russian jets\u2019 route, communication and reaction from the pilots as well as the weapons systems they were carrying and were \u201cvery confident that there is no need to shoot them down,\u201d Pevkur said. <\/p>\n Czech President Petr Pavel said Saturday that NATO must respond adequately to Russian violations, including potentially by shooting down Russian jets, the Czech News Agency reported. \u201cRussia will realize very quickly that they have made a mistake and crossed the acceptable boundaries. Unfortunately, this is teetering on the edge of conflict, but giving in to evil is simply not an option,\u201d Pavel said. <\/p>\n