Russian Defense Ministry denies violation of Estonian airspace by MiG-31 fighters
20 September 2025 18:17
Russian MiG-31 fighter jets made a scheduled flight from Karelia to the Kaliningrad region without violating Estonian airspace.
This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
In this way, the ministry commented on the message of the Estonian General Staff that three Russian fighters allegedly “invaded” the airspace from the island of Vaindloo, staying in it for almost 12 minutes.
According to the ministry, the flight was conducted in strict accordance with International Airspace Regulations – the Russian fighters did not violate Estonian airspace.
“The flight route of the aircraft flew over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea at a distance of more than three kilometers from the island of Vaindlo,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Since 2014, Russian military aircraft have violated Estonian airspace more than 40 times.
Violations have been recorded since 2014, when NATO expanded its rotational Baltic Air Policing mission to Estonia after Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
The number of airspace incursions peaked in 2016 with 10 cases and has been five or less since 2019.
