Twelve contested minutes: Russia denies violating Estonian airspace

Following a surge of European anger after Estonia claimed that Russian fighter jets breached its airspace for 12 minutes, Moscow has denied the incident.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense stated early Saturday morning that its fighter aircraft did not enter Estonian airspace, but instead flew over international waters in the Baltic Sea on their route from northwestern Russia to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic coast.

The statement came after Estonia, a NATO member, said earlier that three Russian military aircraft had violated its airspace for 12 minutes.

The episode occurred just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, some of which were shot down by NATO fighter jets.

In a post on Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the three aircraft, MiG-31 fighter jets, “conducted their flight in full compliance with international rules governing airspace, without violating the borders of other states, as confirmed by independent inspections.”

It added: “The Russian aircraft did not deviate from their agreed flight path and did not violate Estonian airspace.”

The statement further explained that the route taken by the fighters, departing from the Karelia region in northwestern Russia, “was over international waters in the Baltic Sea, more than three kilometers from Vaindloo Island,” located off the Estonian coast.