Estonia warns of fresh Russian sabotage threat

The Estonian foreign minister said that Russia would persist in breaching the airspace of European nations, while NATO continues to respond appropriately to such provocations.

"I'm really sure that Russia will continue these provocations. It's not about Estonia, it's about NATO unity, as well as testing our capabilities, to also trans-Atlantic unity," Tsahkna said.

In September, three Russian fighter jets entered the airspace of an EU and NATO member state for about 12 minutes.

"We reacted, I think, in a very solid way," Tsahkna added.

He noted that NATO demonstrated its effectiveness by immediately intercepting the Russian aircraft. He also emphasized that even after the incident, the alliance showed political unity and determination.

In his interview with a German media outlet, the Estonian diplomat also pointed out that Europe's relations with China have reached a level where Western countries must show greater unity, since "China also needs Europe."

Unknown drone flights over Europe

Over the past month, several European countries have reported sightings of unidentified drones flying over military and strategically important sites.

Drones were spotted in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Germany, and France. In some cases, the incidents led to temporary suspensions of operations at civilian airports.

According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, such incidents could be Kremlin provocations aimed at testing Europe's readiness to respond and possibly part of broader preparations for escalation even before the war in Ukraine ends.

Ukrainian intelligence has established that many of these drones are being launched from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" tankers.

In Germany, work has begun on legislation that would allow police to shoot down drones violating flight restrictions and entering no-fly zones.