Russian fighter jet violates NATO airspace: Details
Photo: Russian fighter jet violated NATO airspace (Russian media)
A Russian Su-30 fighter jet violated Estonian airspace and failed to respond to commands from local air traffic controllers.
On Wednesday, March 18, in the afternoon, a Russian Su-30 fighter jet entered Estonian airspace near the island of Vaindloo and remained there for about a minute.
An Italian Air Force unit stationed in Ämari as part of the NATO mission to protect the airspace of the Baltic states responded to the airspace violation.
According to the Estonian Air Force, the Russian fighter jet did not have a flight plan or two-way radio communication with the Estonian air traffic control service.
In light of the incident, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Russia's chargé d’affaires to lodge a protest and deliver a note regarding the airspace violation.
Tallinn adds that this is the first violation of Estonia’s airspace by Russian aircraft this year.
Russia testing NATO?
Earlier, 3 Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace for 12 minutes.
The incident occurred a few weeks after Russian drones violated the airspace of Poland and Romania, and strike drones also crossed into Lithuanian territory from Belarus in July.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia is testing how far it can go with its actions and wants to divert attention from the war in Ukraine.
