UK 'stands with Estonia' after Russian jets violate airspace sparking NATO response
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper 'stands with Estonia' after three Russian jets enter NATO airspace
The UK "stands with our Estonian allies", the Foreign Secretary has said after Russian jets violated the eastern European country’s airspace.
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Estonia’s foreign ministry said three Russian jets entered its air space without permission on Friday and remained there for 12 minutes, the third violation of Nato air space in a little more than a week.
The aircraft were intercepted by Nato jets, a spokesperson for the alliance confirmed, while Estonia summoned Russia’s senior diplomat in Tallinn over the incident.
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Yvette Cooper wrote on social media: "The UK stands with our Estonian allies, following yet another reckless incursion into NATO airspace by Russia.
"We must continue to increase pressure on Putin, including driving forward the important new economic sanctions announced by the UK & EU in recent days.”
EU high representative for foreign affairs Kaja Kallas described the incident as an "extremely dangerous provocation" which "further escalates tension in the region", and warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "testing the West’s resolve".
The Russian Ministry of Defence has denied that the jets entered Estonian airspace, stating that their flights were "conducted in strict compliance with international airspace regulations."
It said that the three jets were flying "from Karelia to an airfield in the Kaliningrad region."
In a statement shared on Telegram, the ministry said: "During the flight, the Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed-upon route and did not violate Estonian airspace. The aircraft's flight route lay over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, more than three kilometers from Vaindlo Island."
The incursion came 10 days after Russian drones entered Polish airspace and six days after another Russian drone was intercepted flying over Romania.
The incident over Poland prompted Prime Minister Donald Tusk to warn that his country was the closest to "open conflict" it had been since the Second World War, while the UK announced it would provide Warsaw with extra air cover in the form of RAF jets.
