Russian Jets Violate Baltic Airspace Over Estonia, Polish Oil Rig

On September 19, 2025, Russian military aircraft conducted multiple provocative incursions into NATO countries' airspace and zones, escalating tensions in the Baltic region. Two Russian fighter jets flew low over the Polish Petrobaltic oil platform in the Baltic Sea, violating its safety zone within Poland's exclusive economic zone, though not its airspace, prompting notification of Polish armed forces. On the same day, three Russian MiG-31 jets intruded into Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland for approximately 12 minutes, leading to NATO scrambling Italian F-35 jets to intercept them and prompting Estonia to request NATO Article 4 consultations for collective defense. These incidents follow earlier violations, including numerous Russian military drones breaching Polish and Romanian airspace, and have raised concerns about Russia testing NATO's eastern defenses. European and NATO officials condemned the actions as reckless and brazen, emphasizing the need for strengthened political and economic pressure against Russia's aggressive posture under President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian and Baltic leaders warned that without a strong response, Moscow may continue escalating provocations, threatening regional and NATO security.