Tensions Rise in Europe After Russian Warplanes Violate Estonian Airspace
Poland and Estonia invoke NATO’s Article 4, seek consultations on a response by the U.S.-led defense alliance.
Europe is moving dangerously close to a wider military conflict, three and a half years after Russia invaded Ukraine. On Friday morning, Estonia detected three Russian fighter jets violating its airspace.
The incursion by the warplanes comes nine days after 20 Russian attack drones crossed into Poland, making it the second time Moscow breached airspace belonging to a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered the Estonian skies “without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes” over the Gulf of Finland, the government said,” BBC reported. “Italy, Finland and Sweden scrambled jets under NATO’s mission to bolster its eastern flank.”
Friday’s aerial aggression was not limited to the Baltic state of Estonia. “Hours later, Russian jets buzzed a Polish oil platform, Warsaw said,” Sky News (UK) reported.
European NATO members face a showdown with Russia after many of them have been dragging their feet on paying for their collective defense. In 2017, President Donald Trump was jeered and ridiculed by the German media and politicians for merely suggesting that the country should pay its fair share for NATO defense.
🇪🇪🇷🇺 BREAKING: Swedish Air Force, part of NATO in Estonia, releases photos of Russian MiG-31 jets violating Estonian airspace.
Armed Russian fighters caught in NATO skies.
NATO closely monitoring Russia’s brazen moves. pic.twitter.com/sYiBP8xlq1
— Defence Index (@Defence_Index) September 19, 2025
Poland and Estonia, both members of NATO, have called for a ‘response’ from the U.S.-led mutual defense alliance. Following Poland’s example, Estonia also triggered Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, calling for a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s most senior decision-making body. These consultations on a “NATO response” to the latest Russian aggression are set to take place early next week.
The France24 TV channel reports:
The Russian MIG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace in the area of Vaindloo Island, a small island located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, the Estonian military said in a separate statement.
According to this statement, the aircraft did not have flight plans and the transponders were turned off.
Currently deployed as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission, the Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jets were the first responders to the incident.
The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principal political decision-making body, is due to convene early next week to discuss the incident in more detail, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said Friday, calling the incident “reckless Russian behaviour.”
Article 4, the shortest of the NATO treaty’s 14 articles, states that: “The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”
President Trump warned that the latest acts of Russian aggression could lead to “big trouble.”
“I don’t love it,” he said on Friday. “I don’t like when that happens. It could be big trouble, but I’ll let you know later.”
President Donald Trump [@potus] said reports that Russia violated Estonia’s airspace could mean – quotes – “big trouble”. The U.S. leader told journalists at the White House that he was not happy about it and was due to be briefed on Friday’s incursion. pic.twitter.com/PuEikwiBMh
— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) September 20, 2025
The Russian air incursions were followed by cyberattacks on major European airports, prompting some European politicians to point fingers at Moscow. “Operations at several major airports in Europe faced disruptions Saturday after a cyberattack targeted the service provider for check-in and boarding systems,” Germany’s DW TV reported. “Flights were delayed or canceled at airports in London, Berlin and Brussels.”
Russia is saber-rattling with neighboring European states at a time when President Trump has been working to put an end to the war in eastern Europe. Despite his meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the Alaska Summit last month, Moscow has shown no interest in negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine.
While the Russian military continues to make steady gains in eastern Ukraine, its advance has come at a heavy cost and has been marred with setbacks.
“Ukrainian forces have pushed back some of the gains Russia made over the summer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, calling the operation an “important success” after months of battlefield setbacks,” The Guardian (UK) reported Friday. “The Ukrainian president said his troops had reclaimed 160 sq km (62 sq miles)” in the eastern Donetsk region.
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Comments
Is there an Israeli system that America has every right to manufacture if it wants to that thanks to American manufacturing could be ready for Europe overnight?
Lets ask the EU leadership
Nope they are trying to sanctioning Israel instead with Viktor Orban trying to get the votes to prevent the sanctions while the head of the EU is trying to get the votes for the sanctions.
Glad to know that while Russia may have a dangerous air force it isn’t a problem for Europe.
US manufactures part of the iron dome and has some rights to it.
US also has some rights to the Arrow missile interceptor since it was co-developed.
What we have thanks to our special relationship is absolute right to manufacture and use anything for ourselves such as the Iron Beam.
However to export to a third party would take the agreement of Israel.
So if Israel is turned off by the coming sanctions it can veto Europe having the state of the art missile defense that is available to the United States.
Whoever thinks that no Israel can’t veto the joint ventures it made with the United States to third parties
https://parliamentnews.co.uk/israel-could-halt-europes-sky-shield-missile-initiative
From the source
“Israel could block Europe’s Iron Dome plans, as Jerusalem holds veto power over Arrow 3 exports, requiring approval from its Defence Exports Control Agency.
Deca oversees export licences for domestic weapons and military equipment, approving them with “consideration of other national interests.””
In other words Europe cares a lot more about Gaza than about having the best defense against the one still potent part of the Russian War Machine.
We violated each other’s airspace many times during the Cold War. No need to blow this out of proportion. Ironically, we violated Baltic airspace often, to get PVO-Strany to turn on their ADA radars so we could map them.
And they shot down KAL 007.
They shot down a number of aircraft over the years, military and civilian. Unfortunately for KAL, they managed to fly over sensitive areas on Kamchatka.
KAL007 was a giant Soviet cluster. An unarmed passenger jet flying a perfectly straight course at a constant altitude passed into, then out of Soviet airspace, then back onto a different set of airspace, and only then was the air defense able to get fighters within range. Still unable to contact the aircraft, and unable to get their attention with cannon fire (no tracers loaded), the pilots were ordered to shoot it down. Then the lying started before the wreckage hit the ground.
If I recall correctly one of the Soviet claims was that civilian aircraft were fitted with cameras to do double duty as spy planes. I hate to say it but that was a possibility. It i something the CIA would do.
They also were flying a route prior to the departure into Soviet airspace that was often flown by a real US spy plane. One of the planes used to gather signal intelligence. However, they shouldn’t have confused them because the basic planes look different.
Don’t think that is true. We violated each other’s air defense zone not territorial space although there were a few times when territorial space was violated. Still doing it. This is possibly different and to have transponders off might be illegal. Should warn Russia and then shoot them down if they violate 12 mile territorial limit or turn off transponders or both.
It’s true. RAF Canberras flew deep into the Baltics to trigger a response. Sometimes USAF aircraft cut through DDR airspace. All part of the great power game.
I assume you’re referring to the land and not the sea although anything within the 12 mile limit is a violation. I never heard of the DDR incursions. I do recall that U2 flights overflew Russia until one was shot down. The SR71 sensors and cameras were good enough that they could fly just outside the Soviet borders.
In general any incursions were likely pre 70s. At some point they became unnecessary because the camera and sensors on satellites and intelligence planes became good enough that they weren’t required.
It is true that the powers that be, especially the Russians, tickle the defenses by flying planes towards us and recording the response. We do things similarly, I’m guessing it’s probably unnecessary and they still do it either to exercise their crews or to just be an annoyance although it is true that targeting radars are probably not lit off unless there is a reason to do it.
Whereas China got to tour the whole freaking USA by balloon.
They should have put the film up on TikTok for all to see.
IMO this episode is a demonstration to draw attention to the lunacy of extending NATO membership to minor Nations which frankly don’t bring much value. Secondarily it serves to potentially rile up division within NATO membership about responses if any with a tertiary point of openly displaying it can do so if it decides to. The drone event could have been spoofing that misdirected the drones but here not much room to claim error, aside from pro forma claims.
The lunacy is Putin’s aggression.
You may have noticed the USA is blowing up vessels in international waters in OUR hemisphere where we are the hegemonic power. We do so b/c they are, in the view of the US gov’t (mine as well FWIW) a threat to the well being and pros poor US Citizens. We’re not gonna stop acting forcefully to assert our hegemony in this hemisphere b/c someone whines about it being mean and says we must stop.
Similarly if Mexico doesn’t play ball and become significantly more cooperative in rooting out their narcoterrorist cartels it shouldn’t be surprising if the USA uses military force and violates the territorial integrity of Mexico to root them out ourselves.
NATO is 30+ years beyond it’s sell by date. The Soviet Empire and the Warsaw Pact it was created to counter are long gone. Why some want the US taxpayer to continue to underwrite the Defense budget of our economic competitors who refused for decades to invest in their own defense is beyond me. These are the same Nations who harmed US workers and US corporations with tariff and non tariff trade barriers while globalist/neocons applauded the devastation of US manufacturing and the destruction of the broad middle-class.
Reminds me of the scene where the house is burning down and the German husband says, “at least we have insurance.”
Then the French wife admits she used the premium to pay the allowances of their 20 million kids.
The sinister case is that Putin wants them shot down by NATO so that NATO is the enemy and he can order resumed conscription without political blowback.
This may be a surprisingly prescient comment. Putin would gladly sacrificing an aging fighter ( and its pilot) for a broader conscription pool. He would have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
And the response of 95% of Americans will be to Google ‘where is Estonia’.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. The Three Sisters.
I have many friends and colleagues in Latvia, where they make some of the best networking routers in the world.
On the other hand, I admit I had no idea that Moldavia was actually a contemporary nation until I had to do a trace for a client who was targeted by scammers resident there.
“Moldova,” dammit.
Part of their population is ethnic Russian so of course Putin wants to reclaim it.
This all reinforces the axiomatic truth: The easiest way to stop a war is to not let it start. Putin expanded his empire during the administrations of Bush, Obama & Biden and behaved himself when Trump was president, which brings up another axiomatic truth: Weakness invites aggression.
So long as Putin can sell a valuable commodity in gigantic quantities to his ‘enemies,’ his bad behavior isn’t going to abate. He’s in the driver seat as long as European energy markets are open to him. That’s the reality. Hopefully, no one will do something terminally stupid.
Flying planes into Baltic countries or Poland is something stupid. That just isn’t something that can be ignored.
Miss Lindsay is probably demanding an invasion of Russia at this point.