(20 Sep 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tallinn, Estonia – 20 September 2025
1. Wide of people walking in Freedom Square
2. Close of decorative ornament, Estonian flags in background
3. Officials walking out of Estonia’s Defense Ministry
4. Mid of Colonel Ants Kiviselg, Commander of Estonia’s Military Intelligence Center, speaking to reporter
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Ants Kiviselg, Commander of Estonia’s Military Intelligence Center:
"NATO air policing was doing a good job and also they were signaling to the Russian pilots that they should change their course and so far there was no reaction from the Russian pilots. So we can say that at least some of the flight path was intentional and they must have known that they were in Estonian airspace."
6. Kiviselg speaking
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Ants Kiviselg, Commander of Estonia’s Military Intelligence Center:
"The Russian pilots didn’t actually follow the signs what the Italian pilots showed them. So why they didn’t do it, that’s a question for the Russian pilots."
8. Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna talking to reporters
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s Foreign Minister:
"This was a very serious violation of the NATO airspace. We are talking about 12 minutes of violation. Last time we saw it just before Estonia joined NATO, it was 2003. But now the global situation is totally different, the regional situation is different. Just a couple of days before we saw a full-scale attack against Poland with 19 drones. And if you put it all in the pattern, so Russia is turning on the heat, Russia is testing more NATO."
10. Estonia’s Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur talking to reporters
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s Minister of Defense:
"When you talk about yesterday’s case, then every situation is different. And of course, we need to be proportional. So we look very closely. What is the route? How the airplanes are communicating with us? Do they react? What we are telling them? What is their intention? What are the weapon systems they are carrying with? So there are many, many indicators we are looking at. And of, course, yesterday we were very confident that there is no need to shoot them down."
12. Close of Pevkur
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s Minister of Defense:
"I see here a very clear link that Russia is provoking not only in Poland, not only Estonia, all NATO, in cyber field, in airspace and the reason behind that is that they think that we should talk more about our own defense and not so much about Ukraine."
14. Various of street scenes in Tallinn
15. Various of women in traditional clothes
16. Wide of Town Hall Square
STORYLINE:
Russian pilots ignored signals from Italian jets responding from NATO’s 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 alliance’s ability to respond to Russian airborne threats after around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace just over a week ago.
Russia’s Defense Ministry Saturday denied its aircraft flew into Estonia’s 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 Estonian Foreign Ministry in a statement said it was the fourth airspace violation by Russia this year.
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