12:44 20-09-2025

Lithuanian MoD Urges NATO Action After Estonia Airspace Claim

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Lithuanian MoD Dovile Šakaliene calls NATO to act after Estonia accused three Russian MiG-31 jets of violating its airspace, while Moscow denies any breach.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Šakaliene took to social network X to comment on what Estonia claims was a violation of its airspace by three Russian MiG-31 interceptor jets.

Without addressing the details or Russia’s categorical denial of the accusation, the minister wrote that «three Russian fighters over Tallinn are yet another solid proof that NATO’s 'Eastern Shield' initiative is long overdue." She urged the alliance to «act seriously» and cited Turkey’s 2015 shootdown of a Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria as an example to follow.

Šakaliene added that NATO’s northeastern flank «is being tested for a reason» and stressed that the bloc must respond decisively.

On Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense rejected Estonia’s claims. The ministry confirmed that a group of MiG-31 jets had indeed conducted a planned flight from Karelia to Kaliningrad but stated that the crews strictly followed international flight regulations, flew over neutral waters, and did not cross into the airspace of other nations. These statements were backed by objective control data.

Estonia had accused Russia on September 19 of violating its airspace, saying that three MiG-31s remained over Estonian territory for 12 minutes. Tallinn summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires, handed over a note of protest, and requested NATO consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty.