Estonia signals readiness to host UK nuclear weapon after Russian airspace incursion

"I’m always open. The door is always open for allies," said Pevkur in response to journalists’ questions about whether his country is ready to place with itself British F-35A fighter jets.

His comments sounded against the background of the violation by Russian fighter jets of Estonia’s airspace on Friday, 19 September.

Journalists forecast that Russia will likely react with rage to any plans regarding the movement of nuclear weapons near its borders.

British F-35 fighter jets have already been stationed at Ämari air base in Estonia on a rotational basis, within the framework of NATO’s mission to patrol the airspace of the Baltic, which also covers Latvia and Lithuania. And new sixth-generation planes are expected by the end of the decade.

A source connected with the British military stated that "there is no need to have a strategic capability forward in a tactical position in Estonia."

The F-35A fighter jets, according to him, will "act less as a deterrence, more as an agitator." Moreover, they will be subject to "high risk in the case of a Russian first strike."

Russian planes in Estonia

On 19 September, Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonia’s airspace near Tallinn. Altogether, they were in the country’s sky for about 12 minutes.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia summoned the temporary chargé d’affaires of the Russian Federation in order to express protest.

Later, the Estonian government decided to request consultations with NATO allies under Article 4, the last time they resorted to this after the drone attack by the Russian Federation on Poland on 10 September.

However, Moscow cynically denied the intrusion of its fighter jets into Estonia’s sky.