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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Russia has denied accusations by Estonia that Moscow's fighter jets had breached the Baltic state's airspace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow had not received any credible information about the claims by Estonia that Russian MiG-31aircraft had crossed into the territory of the NATO member on Friday.
"Such rhetoric only serves to heighten hostility," Peskov said Monday, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
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When contacted for a response, the Estonian Foreign Ministry referred Newsweek to a statement it made earlier Monday that Russia violating a NATO member's airspace was one thing but "publicly lying about it to the whole world is another."
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Why It Matters
Estonia invoked Article 4 of NATO's charter after it accused Russia of breaching its airspace on Friday with three MiG-31 fighter jets, only days after Poland did the same after Warsaw said it downed Russian drones on its territory.
Peskov's comments will add to tensions between NATO and Moscow sparked by Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine and fueled by subsequent accusations that Russia was testing the alliance's resilience with hybrid warfare measures.
What To Know
Speaking on Monday, Peskov rejected accusations by Estonia that Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had violated its airspace and said that there was no credible data from Tallinn backing its claims.
He said that the Estonian statements were baseless and showed a reckless approach aimed at escalating tensions.
He also said that such accusations were part of the foreign policy posture of Estonia and the Baltic states "but unfortunately, the situation has now escalated further, leading to increased regional tensions," the TASS news agency reported.
Moscow said that the three MiG-31s were on a routine flight from Russia's Karelia region to the exclave of Kaliningrad in a flight strictly in accordance with international airspace regulation which did not violate Estonian sovereignty.
Estonia's Foreign Ministry referred Newsweek to comments by Estonian Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Jonatan Vseviov to the media saying Moscow's claim that its aircraft were flying over international waters was a lie and that Tallinn and its allies had "irrefutable evidence" of the breach.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal had announced that Tallinn had invoked NATO's Article 4 after the intrusion of Russian fighter jets into Estonian airspace on September 19.
Michael Butler, a politics expert at Clark University, told Newsweek that as with the earlier examples in Poland and Romania, Russia had conducted a strategic probing of Estonia's security apparatus as well as of NATO's response capability by Moscow which posed a "pivotal moment" for the alliance.
What People Are Saying
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: "Such rhetoric only serves to heighten hostility and foster a confrontational environment, which is deeply concerning."
Estonian Foreign Ministry Secretary General Jonatan Vseviov: "We have irrefutable evidence about this, and not only we—all our allies do. That evidence exists. That Russia provocatively and dangerously violated a NATO country's airspace is one thing. That it is publicly lying about it to the whole world is another."
Michael Butler, chair of the Department of Political Science at Clark University: "As with the earlier examples in Poland and Romania, there is no doubt this was a strategic probing of Estonia's security apparatus as well as of NATO's response capability."
What Happens Next
The threat posed by Russia will be the basis of NATO's next meeting as alliance members will be keeping watch on whether any other aircraft or drones enters its territory.
Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that Poland would shoot down any object that violates Polish territory.
Update 09/22/25, 10:35 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.
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