 "Poland, Romania, Estonia and now Norway… all have the same complaint: Russia violated airspace")
After Poland, Romania, and Estonia, Norway has said that Russia violated its airspace three times this year.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Tuesday slammed Russian incursions as “unacceptable”.
“Russia has violated Norwegian airspace on three occasions this spring and summer,” said Store, adding that those incursions were less serious than recent incursions into Estonian, Polish, and Romanian airspaces.
“We cannot determine whether this was done intentionally or due to navigation errors. Regardless of the cause, this is not acceptable,” Store further said.
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In recent weeks, the Russian challenge to Europe has become stark as Russian drones and fighter planes repeatedly crossed into European countries, including Nato members Poland, Romania, and Estonia. These countries, and their Nato allies, scrambled their fighter planes and pressed air defence systems into action, to respond to these incursions.
| Country | Date(s) | Russian Aircraft Involved | Intruding Aircraft Count | Details of Incursion & Actions Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 19 September | MiG-31 fighter jets | 3 | Three MiG-31s entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland and lingered for 12 minutes. Italian F-35s (NATO Baltic Air Policing) intercepted, escorted jets out; Estonian, Swedish, and Finnish aircraft were also scrambled. Estonia has reported four such violations in 2025. |
| Poland | 9–10 September | Unspecified drones | At least 19 | At least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace; Polish/NATO air assets shot some drones down. Poland invoked NATO Article 4 consultations after the incident. |
| Romania | 13 September | Unspecified drone | 1 | Romanian F-16s and German/Eurofighter jets were scrambled after a Russian drone crossed into national airspace (approx. 50 minutes); the drone left Romanian airspace and returned to Ukraine—no shootdown was attempted due to risk of collateral damage. |
| Denmark | 22–23 September | Suspected large drones (likely Russian origin) | 2–3 | Copenhagen Airport shut after 2–3 unidentified large drones violated Danish airspace, causing over 30 diverted flights. Russian involvement is suspected; incident under investigation. |
| Baltic Sea | 21 September | IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft | 1 | German and Swedish jets intercepted a Russian IL-20M reconnaissance plane over international airspace in the Baltic Sea (not a direct airspace violation, but tracked closely in context of heightened tensions). |
Russia is probing Nato, challenging West
In the most serious incursion, Poland said that at least 19 Russian drones entered its airspace on the intervening night of September 9-10. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the time that fighter planes, helicopters, and air defence systems were pressed into actions to shoot down those drones.
Observers have said that such Russian incursions are testing the resolve of Nato as the alliance is based on the principle of collective defence. So far, Nato allies like the United Kingdom and Italy have joined host nations in tackling these incursions. But the United States has been reluctant to join these efforts, highlighting the challenge that the alliance faces as US President Donald Trump has put the commitment to Nato and its collective security principle under question.
In a statement after Poland reported incursions, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “testing the West” with such actions. He said that “Russian drones flying into Poland during the massive attack on Ukraine show that Putin’s sense of impunity keeps growing because he was not properly punished for his previous crimes”.
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