NATO warns Russia after Estonian airspace violation

NATO warned Russia on Tuesday that it would use “all necessary military and non-military tools” to defend itself as it condemned Moscow for violating Estonian airspace in “a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour”.

Estonia on Friday said three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes before being escorted out by NATO Italian fighter jets — an incident Western officials say was likely designed to test NATO’s readiness and resolve. The week before, some 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting NATO jets to shoot some of them down and the alliance to beef up the defence of Europe’s eastern flank. Tuesday's meeting of the North Atlantic Council, made up of ambassadors from the alliance's 32 member countries, was called after Estonia invoked Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty.