UN Security Council meets urgently on alleged Russian intrusion of Estonian airspace

The UN Security Council met urgently after Estonia accused Russian jets of intruding into its airspace. Russia denied the claim, while members urged restraint to prevent escalation amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

United Nations: The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the alleged intrusion of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca said the world body is not in a position to confirm the claims regarding the incident and has no further details. His briefing was based solely on information available from public sources.

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In a letter dated Saturday and addressed to the president of the Security Council, Estonia claimed that three Russian MiG-31 fighters entered up to 10 km inside its airspace and remained there for 12 minutes on Friday, Jenca said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that its fighter jets conducted a scheduled flight from Karelia, near the border with Finland, to an airfield in Kaliningrad in strict accordance with international airspace rules, without deviating from the agreed flight path or violating Estonian airspace.

“We again urge all concerned to act responsibly, to use all available channels and to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions and prevent further risks to regional security,” Jenca said. “The world simply cannot afford such danger to spiral out of control, and for the devastating war in Ukraine to further escalate and expand.”

Estonia, other European countries that participated in Monday’s meeting, and the United States accused Russia of violating Estonia’s airspace and escalating tensions, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, denied the violation and accused European states of Russophobia.

“Through their efforts, a medieval-like hatred for our country, coupled with the aspiration to portray Russia as the principal threat to pan-Europe security, is becoming the overarching ideology of European states,” he said.

“Our neighbors now claim that Russia is at fault for an incursion into Estonia’s airspace. As always, there is no evidence, except for the Russophobic hysteria coming from Tallinn,” Polyanskiy added.

US Permanent Representative to the UN Mike Waltz, in his maiden speech to the Security Council, said his country and its allies will “defend every inch of NATO territory.” Estonia is a NATO member.

Non-European members of the Security Council called for restraint and de-escalation.

China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, said China urges the parties concerned to remain calm, exercise restraint, clarify facts, and resolve doubts through dialogue to prevent the situation from escalating.

The meeting was requested by Estonia. The council’s five European members — Britain, Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia — supported the request.