TALLINN, Estonia (AP) Russian pilots ignored signals from Italian jets responding from NATOs Baltic Air Policing Mission when they violated Estonian airspace, a senior Estonian military official said Saturday.

The 12-minute incursion was the latest test of the alliances ability to respond to Russian airborne threats after around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on Sept. 10.

Russias Defense Ministry on Saturday denied its aircraft flew into Estonias airspace, after Tallinn reported three fighter jets crossed into its territory on Friday without permission .

Estonian officials dismissed the denial, saying the violation was confirmed by radar and visual contact and suggested it could be a tactic to draw Western resources away from Ukraine.

The Russian MIG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace between 9.58am and 10.10am local time on Friday in the area of Vaindloo, a small island located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, the Estonian military said. A ministry statement said it was the fourth airspace violation by Russia this year.

It still needs to be confirmed, if the border violation was deliberate or not, Col. Ants Kiviselg, the commander of Estonias Military Intelligence Center, told The Associated Press. Regardless, he said, the Russian jets must have known that they are in (Estonian) airspace.

The Russian pilots didnt pose a military threat, Kiviselg said.

But although they acknowledged communication from the Italian pilots flying F-35 fighter jets, they apparently ignored it and didnt actually follow the signs, which is partly why they were in Estonian airspace for so long, he added.

Why they didnt do it, thats a question for the Russian pilots, Kiviselg said.

It could be big trouble

The Russian jets came from an airfield near the city of Petrozavodsk, in northwestern Russia, and were heading to Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland. They were tracked by two Finnish fighter jets before being escorted by the two Italian jets which took off from Estonias 02mari Air Base and followed them into international skies, Kiviselg said.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded by telling reporters he will be briefed by aides on the incursion.

I dont love it, he said, adding: I dont like when that happens. It could be big trouble, but Ill let you know later.

Margus Tsahkna, Estonias Foreign Minister, told AP the incident was a very serious violation of NATO airspace. The last time Estonian airspace was violated for so long was in 2003, he said, just before Estonia joined NATO.

Estonias government responded by saying it would request consultations under Article 4 of NATOs treaty which allows a member to formally consult with allies whenever their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Poland also used the mechanism after its airspace was violated by Russian drones and, after that, NATO launched its Eastern Sentry mission to boost defenses along its eastern flank.

Posting on X, Lithuanias Defense Minister Dovil09 07akalien09 suggested NATO member Turkey set an example of how to respond to such incidents in 2015 when it shot down a Russian fighter jet which violated its airspace for around 17 seconds.

But that situation was totally different, Hanno Pevkur, Estonias Minister of Defense said, adding that the Russians actually killed Turks, when Moscow used fighter jets to target what they said were militant groups near the Syrian border with Turkey.

During Fridays incident, Estonia and its allies observed the Russian jets route, communication and reaction from the pilots as well as the weapons systems they were carrying and were very confident that there is no need to shoot them down, Pevkur said.

Estonian officials maintained Saturday that there was no need to trigger Article 5, NATOs collective defense clause, despite the repeated violations by Russian jets and drones as well as allegations from Western officials that Moscow is waging a hybrid war against the West including a sabotage campaign, cyberattacks and influence operations.

Radars and visual identification

In an online statement published Saturday, Russias Defense Ministry said its fighter jets had kept to neutral Baltic Sea waters more than 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Vaindloo Island.

It said the three MiG-31 jets completed a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airfield in the Kaliningrad region and did not violate the borders of other states.

Pevkur dismissed the statement, saying Estonia and its NATO allies have multiple radars and visual identification which confirm the Russian jets entered the countrys airspace.

He suggested the root cause for the air violations, hybrid war and cyberattacks was to distract Western attention from Ukraine.

Moscow, Pevkur said, may be trying to provoke NATO nations into sending additional air defense assets to Estonia in the hope that Kyivs allies do more about our own defense, and less to support Kyiv.

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Associated Press journalist Kostya Manenkov in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.

爱沙尼亚塔林（美联社）——爱沙尼亚一名高级军事官员周六表示，俄罗斯飞行员在侵犯爱沙尼亚领空时，无视了执行北约波罗的海空中警务任务的意大利战机发出的信号。

在9月10日约20架俄罗斯无人机闯入波兰领空后，此次持续12分钟的入侵事件再次考验了北约应对俄方空中威胁的能力。

俄罗斯国防部周六否认其军机飞入爱沙尼亚领空，此前塔林方面报告称，三架战斗机于周五未经许可侵入其领空。

爱沙尼亚官员驳斥了这一否认，称雷达和目视接触已确认违规行为，并暗示这可能是转移西方对乌克兰资源支援的战术。

爱沙尼亚军方表示，当地时间周五上午9点58分至10点10分，俄罗斯米格-31战斗机进入爱沙尼亚领空，事发区域位于波罗的海芬兰湾的小岛瓦因德洛附近。该国国防部声明称，这是俄罗斯今年第四次侵犯其领空。

爱沙尼亚军事情报中心指挥官安茨·基维塞尔格上校向美联社表示，此次越界行为是否属于蓄意仍有待确认。但他强调，俄罗斯战机飞行员不可能不知道自己已进入爱沙尼亚领空。

基维塞尔格表示，俄罗斯飞行员并未构成"军事威胁"。

但他补充说，尽管他们确认收到了驾驶F-35战斗机的意大利飞行员的通讯，却显然置之不理且'并未真正遵循指示'，这也是其长时间停留在爱沙尼亚领空的部分原因。

基维塞尔格表示：“他们为何没有这样做，这个问题应该去问俄罗斯飞行员。”

这可能是个大麻烦

基维塞尔格称，这批俄罗斯战机从俄西北部彼得罗扎沃茨克市附近的机场起飞，目的地是位于立陶宛与波兰之间、波罗的海沿岸的俄罗斯飞地加里宁格勒。芬兰两架战斗机曾对其进行跟踪，随后意大利两架战机从爱沙尼亚阿马里空军基地起飞，护送其进入国际空域。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普对此作出回应，告知记者他将听取助手关于此次入侵行动的简报。

“我并不喜欢这样，”他说道，并补充称：“我不希望发生这种事。这可能带来大麻烦，但我会晚些时候告诉你。”

爱沙尼亚外交部长马古斯·察克纳（Margus Tsahkna）向美联社表示，此次事件是"对北约领空的严重侵犯"。他指出，爱沙尼亚领空上次遭遇如此长时间的侵犯是在2003年，"就在爱沙尼亚加入北约前夕"。

爱沙尼亚政府回应称，将根据《北约条约》第四条请求磋商。该条款规定，当成员国的领土完整、政治独立或安全受到威胁时，可正式与盟国进行协商。此前波兰在领空遭俄罗斯无人机侵犯后也曾启动该机制，随后北约便启动了"东部哨兵"行动，以加强其东翼防御。

立陶宛国防部长多维莱·尤克涅维切涅在X平台上发文称，北约成员国土耳其2015年击落一架侵入其领空约17秒的俄罗斯战斗机，为应对此类事件树立了榜样。

爱沙尼亚国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔表示，当时的情况“完全不同”，并补充说，当莫斯科出动战斗机袭击他们所说的叙利亚与土耳其边境附近的武装组织时，“俄罗斯人实际上杀害了土耳其人”。

佩夫库尔表示，在周五的事件中，爱沙尼亚及其盟国密切监控了俄罗斯战机的飞行路线、飞行员通讯与反应，以及其所携带的武器系统，并『非常有把握无需将其击落』。

爱沙尼亚官员周六坚称，尽管俄罗斯战机和无人机屡次侵犯领空，且西方官员指控莫斯科正对西方发动混合战争（包括破坏行动、网络攻击和影响力操作），但目前仍无需触发《北大西洋公约》第五条集体防御条款。

雷达与目视识别

俄罗斯国防部周六在一份在线声明中表示，其战斗机始终保持在距离文岛（Vaindloo Island）3公里（1.8英里）以外的波罗的海中立水域。

声明称，三架米格-31战机“按计划完成了从卡累利阿至加里宁格勒地区某机场的飞行任务”，且“未侵犯其他国家领空”。

佩夫库尔驳斥了这一说法，称爱沙尼亚及其北约盟友通过**多部**雷达和目视识别确认俄罗斯战机曾进入该国领空。

他指出，空域侵犯、混合战争和网络攻击的“根本原因”是为了转移西方对乌克兰问题的注意力。

佩夫库尔表示，莫斯科可能正试图挑动北约国家向爱沙尼亚增派防空装备，以期让基辅的盟友将更多精力放在‘我们自身的防御’上，而非支持基辅。

美联社驻爱沙尼亚塔林记者康斯坦丁·马年科夫对本报道亦有贡献。