Three Russian fighter jets entered Estonia’s airspace, a NATO member nation, for approximately 12 minutes on Friday. This period was noted as uncharacteristically long compared to prior such occurrences. NATO forces responded by intercepting the Russian aircraft, as confirmed by NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna described this specific incursion by three MIG-31 fighters as different and more prolonged than Russia’s previous entries into Estonian airspace, which typically occurred for shorter durations within the context of NATO’s Baltic Sentry air policing mission.
The event follows a prior incident 10 days earlier, in which at least 21 Russian drones reportedly entered Polish airspace, prompting a separate NATO response involving scrambled fighter jets.
Source: www.nytimes.com