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.
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.”
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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