FLASH
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Estonian airspace was violated by 3 Russian MiG-31 fighter jets, where they stayed for a total of 12 minutes.
Another flight. A new provocation. And again, the big scare: a twelve-minute invasion reopened the game on the eastern front yesterday. Three Russian MiG-31s flying over the Baltic Sea violated Estonian airspace, forcing NATO to order the immediate takeoff of two Italian F-35 jets from the Amari base.
The episode, which took place over the Gulf of Finland, was described by Tallinn as "an unprecedented act." Russian military aircraft had never before stayed so long in the skies of a European country, coincidentally on the very day the EU adopted a new round of sanctions against the Kremlin. The alarm was so great that Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called for the activation of NATO's Article 4 that evening.
This is the formal consultation between allies in the event of a direct threat to a partner. It is the first step towards Article 5, the collective military response. And it is the second time in the last ten days that it has been activated due to Russian actions, a record, after Poland invoked it after Moscow's drones crossed the border on September 10.
According to the Estonian Foreign Ministry, the planes had not filed a flight plan and were flying with their transponders turned off, a procedure that made them invisible to civilian radars. The violation was detected by the Atlantic Alliance's defense systems and triggered a rapid response: within minutes, two F-35s from the 13th Group of the Italian 32nd Wing reached the MiGs, forcing them to change course.
Italy's intervention is no coincidence, given that Italy leads NATO air policing in the Baltics from its base in Amari. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the response "under the command of Eastern Sentinel was swift and decisive." US President Donald Trump said the airspace violation "could be a big problem, I'll take care of it."
The Russian Defense Ministry denied the raid and spoke of "strict compliance with international regulations, without violating Estonian airspace," but the MiGs remained "over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea."
Another incident has stoked tensions: Polish border police reported that two Russian fighter jets violated the security zone of the Petrobaltic exploration platform, flying low over it. "The armed forces are on alert," Warsaw said. The signal is clear: the Kremlin continues to test NATO's strength on the eastern border, after the alert was raised in Poland, followed by further drone incursions into Romania, prompting the Alliance to launch Operation Eastern Sentinel.
Yesterday's border crossing, which NATO called "reckless," was condemned by capitals across the continent.
“This is a clear violation of European airspace. Every step Moscow takes increases tensions in the region. It is clear that Russia is testing its borders. We must not show weakness, because weakness is an invitation to go further,” said Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister, now the EU High Representative.
The incident is the fourth Russian airstrike recorded in Estonia since the beginning of the year, prompting Tallinn to urgently summon Moscow's diplomatic representative.
"We are facing another unacceptable provocation, which shows the urgent need to strengthen our eastern flank," explained European Council President Antonio Costa.
Ursula von der Leyen, who just yesterday presented the nineteenth package of EU sanctions against Russia, assured that the Union will respond "with determination".
Meanwhile, in Russia, Vladimir Putin has chosen not to respond directly to the European accusations. During a meeting with workers in Perm, he reiterated that "the demand for modern armed forces will not end here" and promised that Moscow would continue to develop "a compact and powerful army." And his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Donald Trump's statements about his disappointment with the Tsar, dismissed them as an "emotional reaction."/La Repubblica
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