NATO panic as brazen Vladimir Putin makes aggressive move on EU country

By Max Parry, News Reporter

A Sukhoi Su-35 Russian fighter jet (Image: Getty)

A Russian fighter jet has infringed NATO airspace in Estonia, drawing condemnation from the former Soviet country's foreign minister. The incursion, which lasted around one minute, was "not acceptable in any way", according to Margus Tsahkna, adding that the violation was "very serious".

The Sukhoi Su-35 flew without a flight plan, without transponders, and without radio contact. The breach came at the same time as Exercise Hedgehog, Estonia’s largest annual military drill involving over 16,000 NATO troops. Hitting back, Portuguese F-16s, deployed under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, launched a reconnaissance flight.

Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said the incursion was 'very serious' (Image: Getty)

Mr Tsahkna dubbed the episode “a very serious and regrettable incident, which is not acceptable in any way”. A formal complaint has been raised with the Russian embassy in Tallinn, the Foreign Ministry said. The breach was the first recorded since 2023.

The incursion comes amid fury that Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to attend peace talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul. An offer had been extended to Mr Putin to meet with Mr Zelensky, after the Ukrainian war leader had met with Turkey's President Erdogan in Ankara.

Volodymyr Zelensky meets Recep Erdogan in Turkey (Image: Getty)

The Kremlin's refusal to co-operate with the talks was branded "theatrical" by Mr Zelensky.

"I have not yet received official confirmation regarding the Russian level of representation. But from what we can observe, it appears theatrical. We will decide on our next steps after the conversation with President Erdogan", he wrote on X.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that President Donald Trump is "open to virtually any mechanism that gets us to a just, enduring and lasting peace".

"He wants to end wars and that's the hope with Russia and Ukraine," Rubio said. "We'll see what happens over the next couple of days in that regard, but we want to see progress made."