Russia will use “military and non-military” measures to defend itself from what it calls an “increasingly irresponsible” string of airspace violations that it has warned of.
In a statement released on Tuesday, NATO stated that it “commits to mutual defense in the event of an attack on any one of its members.” Article 5 is ironclad, the provision of NATO’s founding treaty.
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The actions were “escalatory, risk miscalculation, and endanger lives,” according to the statement. They must end.
Estonia called an emergency meeting to issue a warning to NATO after the Baltic nation claimed Russian jets had violated its airspace. Three Russian MiG-31 aircraft entered Estonian airspace for more than ten minutes before being confronted and forced to retreat, according to a statement from NATO.
Moscow has accused Estonia of making “unfounded” accusations and “propagating a completely careless pattern of escalating tensions and creating a confrontational atmosphere” (poaching).
Russia occupies a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, where Estonia summoned a meeting to which it said its accusations against Russia were based on “solid evidence.” According to Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, “Russia is lying again, as it has lied before several times.”
NATO’s Mark Rutte stated at a press conference on Tuesday that any jets entering Estonian airspace posed no immediate threat and that future decisions will be made “in real time, based on available intelligence regarding the threat posed by the aircraft.”
You can be certain that we will take all necessary steps to protect our cities, our people, and our infrastructure, Rutte told reporters.
Two weeks prior, 20 Russian drones flew over Ukraine and entered Polish airspace, and Romanian fighters found a Geran drone, the Russian version of the Iranian-designed Shahed, in their airspace.
Denmark announced on Monday that its capital’s main airport in Copenhagen was shut down after at least two drones, which were spotted nearby, halted operations in what the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, described as the country’s most “most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date” were spotted. On Tuesday, an investigation was still ongoing as to who was responsible for the incursion.
After being spotted there, Oslo’s main airport had to close down as well. Danish and Norwegian investigators are weighing the possibility, though authorities have not yet confirmed whether the incidents were connected.
Russia, which shares a short, sparsely populated northern border with Norway, was reported on Tuesday by the country’s government for three violations of its airspace in 2025, in April, July, and August. Whether this was an intentional violation or a deliberate provocation, it was unclear on whether it was the Kremlin’s part.
Additionally, according to the NATO statement, Russia’s neighboring countries of Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania also experienced airspace violations.
Numerous NATO members have responded with a very strong response to the actions, with some promising to stay put when Russia invades their territory.
Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland, stated to reporters on Monday, “I want to be very clear. When flying objects invading our territory and passing over Poland, we will decide whether to shoot them down without discussion. This discussion is ineffective.
Before heading to the US for the UN General Assembly, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “I think we are wasting a lot of time if sanctions are not imposed on Russia] or some steps are not taken.”
Donald Trump, the president of the US, earlier this month, set out his sanctions against Russia and promised to follow through if the country’s European allies stopped buying Russian oil and fought US tariffs on China.
Source: Aljazeera
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