Russia Refutes Estonia's "Unprecedentedly Brazen" Airspace Violation Claim

Swedish military provides photographic evidence of Russian aircraft allegedly involved in Estonian airspace incident.

The Russian Defence Ministry issued a statement early Saturday asserting that their fighter jets maintained proper flight protocols and did not breach Estonian airspace, stating they remained over neutral Baltic Sea waters during transit from northwest Russia to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave.

Estonia, a NATO member state, had previously claimed that three Russian military aircraft entered its airspace for approximately 12 minutes in what officials described as an "unprecedentedly brazen" violation. This incident follows a separate occurrence just over a week earlier when more than 20 Russian drones reportedly entered Polish airspace, with several being intercepted by NATO aircraft.

"The flight was conducted in strict accordance with international airspace regulations without any border violations of other nations, which is verified by independent monitoring," the Russian Defence Ministry stated regarding the three MiG-31 fighter jets in their Telegram communication.

"Throughout their journey, the Russian aircraft maintained their designated flight path and did not enter Estonian airspace at any point."

The ministry further clarified that the fighters' route from Karelia in northwestern Russia "traversed neutral Baltic Sea waters maintaining a distance exceeding 3 kilometers from Vaindloo island," a small island situated off Estonia's coast.