On Friday, 19 September, three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace in the course of the afternoon.
Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna condemned it as an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion. “The incursion took place over the Gulf of Finland, where three Russian Federation MIG-31 fighter aircraft entered Estonian airspace [...] and remained there for a total of 12 minutes,” he explained.
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, formerly the prime minister of Estonia, denounced it as an “extremely dangerous provocation”. She expressed the EU’s full solidarity with Tallinn. The presidents of the European Commission and the European Council emphasised the need to strengthen the protection of the EU’s eastern flank.
On the social network X, Margus Tsahkna revealed that he had summoned the Russian embassy’s chargé d’affaires for an explanation. “Such actions cannot be tolerated and must be met with swift political and economic pressure,” he added.
Russia has already violated Poland’s and Romania’s airspace in recent weeks. The Baltic states have already suffered these incursions several times over the past few months.
This latest affront comes at the very moment that the European Commission has, on the same day, proposed a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine (see other news). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)