Estonia ready to shoot down Russian targets entering its airspace
Photo: Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Estonia is ready to shoot down Russian targets that cross the country's airspace if necessary. The NATO protocol on this issue has been in place for 20 years, says Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna during a joint conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Journalists ask Tsahkna whether Estonia is ready today to shoot down Russian targets that appear on its border. He replies that if necessary, this will be done.
"A very easy answer, as President Trump says. We will intercept and shoot them down. And the NATO protocol on this has been in place for 20 years. NATO is ready to defend its territory from the first second, from the first push," the Minister says.
He also notes that when Russia violated Estonian airspace for 12 minutes, NATO aircraft were on site and ready to act if they saw an immediate threat to our sovereignty and independence.
"This was not the first time Russia had tested our capabilities, and NATO's Central European mission was reinforced as soon as Poland's airspace was violated. In this way, we are increasing coordination throughout our region and strengthening our capabilities," Tsakna replies.
Drones over Europe
In September, Russian strike drones violated the airspace of several NATO countries. The drones were spotted in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Germany, and France. In some cases, this led to the temporary suspension of civilian airports.
Ukrainian intelligence has determined that many of these drones are launched from Russian shadow fleet tankers.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets also violated Estonian airspace. They flew near Tallinn. The Estonian Armed Forces also reported that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter violated Estonian airspace.
