On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Russia's incursion into Estonia's airspace "could be big trouble," as NATO scrambled fighter jets and Baltic leaders called for urgent consultations under Article 4.
Russian Jets Cross Into Estonia
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace Friday morning, flying over the NATO member for 12 minutes before being intercepted by Italian F-35s deployed under the alliance's air policing mission, reported the Financial Times.
NATO condemned the action as a "reckless" provocation, underscoring growing security risks on Europe's eastern flank.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the breach was "completely unacceptable" and confirmed Estonia had formally requested NATO Article 4 consultations to coordinate a collective response.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna added that the violation was "unprecedentedly brazen" and marked the fourth Russian incursion into Estonia's skies this year.
See Also: Trump To Seal US-UK Tech Pact On AI, Chips And Quantum Computing During London Visit: Report
Trump Reacts To NATO Incursion
When asked about the incident, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, "Well, I'm gonna have to look at it. They'll be briefing me in a short while."
Pressed further, he added, "Well, I don't love it, I don't love it…Could be big trouble."
His remarks came just hours after Estonia summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires over the violation.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also described the incident as an "extremely dangerous provocation," noting it was the third airspace violation against an EU or NATO member in just over a week.
Regional Concerns Mount
The latest airspace breach follows a series of confrontations: NATO jets shot down Russian drones that crossed into Poland last week and intercepted another in Romanian airspace days later.
Trump's Sanctions Strategy On Russia
Earlier this month, Trump said he was "ready to do major sanctions on Russia," but only if NATO countries agreed to act in unison and halt Russian oil imports.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed the plan, arguing that unified sanctions would cut off "revenues funding Putin's war machine."
Trump also linked the Russia strategy to China, urging allies to impose "50% to 100% tariffs on China" until the Ukraine war ends, stating the move would break Beijing's "grip" over Moscow.
Read Next:
- Trump Forewarns Of Massive Debt If Supreme Court Reverses Tariffs: ';We Would Have Give Back Trillions And Trillions Of Dollars'
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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