The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday in response to violation of Estonia’s airspace by three Russian fighter jets.
Estonia called for an emergency Security Council meeting on Friday for the first time in the country’s 34 years of memberships of the organization. Tallin reported that three Russian fighter jets crossed into the country’s airspace and remained there for 12 minutes before being escorted by NATO aircraft.
Addressing the Security Council meeting on Monday, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna provided photographs of Russian jets carrying missiles and radar screenshots. Tsahkna said "This violation of our sovereignty and threat of use of force concerns not only Estonia but the entire international community."
Following Russia’s border violation, Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal called a meeting of Estonia’s security cabinet and invoked NATO’s Article 4, stating that the airspace violation was “completely unacceptable” and required a “unified and firm” response from NATO. In a subsequent interview, Michal emphasized that Estonia has “clear guidelines” in place for shooting down unauthorized aircraft if necessary.
Making his debut at the UN Security Council, the new U.S. ambassador, Mike Waltz, stated that the United States and its allies are committed to protecting "every inch of NATO territory." He also called on Russia to immediately cease its provocative actions.
In response, Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, rejected claims that Russian aircraft had entered Estonian airspace.
