NATO has issued a stern warning to Russia against what it calls an “increasingly irresponsible” string of violations of its member states’ airspace, adding that it will employ “military and non-military” measures to defend itself.
In a statement on Tuesday, NATO said, “Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad,” the provision in NATO’s founding treaty that commits all member states to mutual defence in the event of an attack on any one of them.
The statement added that the actions were “escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop.”
NATO’s warning came following an emergency meeting called by Estonia after the Baltic country said its airspace had been violated by Russian jets. NATO’s statement said three Russian MiG-31 aircraft entered Estonian airspace for more than 10 minutes before they were confronted and forced to retreat.
Moscow has accused Estonia of making “unfounded” accusations and pursuing a “continuation of a completely reckless pattern of escalating tensions and provoking a confrontational atmosphere.”
Estonia summoned a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, on which Russia has a permanent seat, where it said its allegations against Russia were based on “solid evidence.” “Russia is lying again, as it has lied before several times,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, NATO chief Mark Rutte said the jets which entered Estonian airspace posed no immediate threat, and that future assessments about whether Russian jets need to be shot down will be made “in real time, based on available intelligence regarding the threat posed by the aircraft.”
“But if necessary, you can be assured, we will do what is necessary to defend our cities, our people, our infrastructure,” Rutte told reporters.
The incident comes just two weeks after a volley of 20 Russian drones passed over Ukraine and penetrated Polish airspace, while Romanian fighters detected a Geran drone, the Russian version of the Iranian-designed Shahed, in their airspace.
On Monday, Denmark said its main airport in the capital, Copenhagen, was closed down after at least two drones, spotted at the airport, halted operations in what the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said was the most “most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date”. An investigation was still on going on Tuesday as to who was behind the incursion.
Oslo’s main airport also had to close down after drones were spotted there. Authorities have not said whether the incidents were linked, but Danish and Norwegian investigators are considering the possibility.
On Tuesday, Norway’s government said Russia, with which it shares a short, sparsely populated northern border, had violated its airspace on three occasions in 2025, in April, July and August, adding that it was not clear if it was accidental on the Kremlin’s part or a calculated provocation.
The NATO statement also said that Finland, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which neighbour Russia, experienced airspace violations, too.
The moves have elicited an extremely strong response from several NATO members who have separately promised not to stand idly by when Russia enters their territory.
On Monday, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters, “I want to be very clear. We will make a decision to shoot down flying objects without discussion when they violate our territory and fly over Poland. There is no room for debate here.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said before his visit to the US for the UN General Assembly, “I think we are wasting a lot of time if sanctions are not imposed [on Russia] or some steps are not taken.”
US President Donald Trump set out his conditions for sanctions on Russia earlier this month, saying he would follow through if the US’s European allies also stopped purchasing Russian oil and joined the US’s trade war with China with steep tariffs.
The Ukrainian president is due to meet Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
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