Overview

• SACEUR briefed the North Atlantic Council that three armed Russian MiG-31s entered Estonian airspace for more than ten minutes before allied jets escorted them out.
• The Council convened under Article 4 at Estonia’s request and framed the episode as part of a broader pattern of recent Russian violations affecting multiple Allies.
• NATO held Russia fully responsible, calling the actions an escalation and pledging to employ necessary military and non-military tools to deter and defend.
• Leaders outlined thresholds for force: Mark Rutte said decisions, including potential shoot-downs, will be made in real time; the UK signaled readiness to confront incursions; Poland conditioned any shoot-down on unanimous NATO support.
• The United Nations said it cannot independently confirm the incident and the Kremlin issued a denial, while Italy reported seven recent F-35 scrambles in the Baltics, including during the Estonian breach.