Russia denies its fighters violated Estonia’s airspace

The Russian Defense Ministry denied on Friday (19) that its fighters violated Estonia’s airspace. According to the Kremlin, the aircraft flew over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea as they moved from northwest Russia to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The Estonian government, a NATO member, claimed that three Russian military jets breached its airspace for 12 minutes in an ‘unprecedented brazen incursion.’ ‘The flight was conducted in strict compliance with the international rules governing airspace, without violating the borders of other states, as confirmed by independent checks,’ the Russian Defense Ministry stated about the three MiG-31 fighters in a post on Telegram. The incident took place just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, some shot down by NATO jets. ‘During the flight, the Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed flight path and did not violate Estonia’s airspace,’ the statement further added. The statement clarified that the route taken by the fighters from Russia’s northwest Karelia region ‘was over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea at a distance of over 3 km from Vaindloo Island,’ located off Estonia’s coast.