The UN Security Council is holding an emergency session on Monday after three Russian fighter jets violated Estonia’s airspace – the first time Tallinn has called such a meeting in its 34 years of UN membership; Estonian World broadcasts live at 5 PM Estonian time, 10 AM New York time.
The aircraft, capable of carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, entered near Vaindloo Island on 19 September, loitering for nearly twelve minutes without flight plans, transponders or radio contact. NATO allies scrambled: Finnish jets intercepted the formation over the Gulf of Finland, and Italian F-35s from Ämari airbase forced it back.
“By openly violating our airspace, Russia is undermining principles essential to the security of all UN member states,” foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said, calling the incursion a breach of the UN Charter. He stressed that such behaviour, especially by a permanent Security Council member, “requires an international response.”
Prime minister Kristen Michal convened Estonia’s security cabinet and invoked NATO’s Article 4. “Such a violation is completely unacceptable, and NATO’s response must be united and strong,” he said. In a later interview, Michal noted Estonia has “clear parameters” for shooting down intruding jets if needed.
Parliamentary defence committee chair Kalev Stoicescu called the episode a “brazen provocation,” while MP and security expert Eerik-Niiles Kross explained that NATO’s rules of engagement meant lethal force is a last resort. This was the fourth airspace violation against Estonia this year, but the first involving a formation of supersonic fighters.
The breach has drawn international reactions. US president Donald Trump warned there “could be big trouble,” EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen vowed continued sanctions, French president Emmanuel Macron condemned the “pattern of provocations,” and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called it “extremely dangerous” and stressed that Europe “must not show weakness.”
The UN Security Council is the UN’s most powerful decision-making body, tasked with maintaining international peace and security. It has five permanent members with veto power – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China – and ten rotating members elected for two-year terms (Estonia held the rotation from 2020–2021). The elected seats in 2025 are held by Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia.
