UN Security Council holds emergency meeting over Russian jet incursions over Estonia

2025-09-22 07:55:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

UN Security Council holds emergency meeting over Russian jet incursions over

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss Russian interference in Estonian airspace, Estonian and UN officials said on Sunday.

Estonia requested the emergency meeting after three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered its airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission on Friday. The planes stayed for 12 minutes before being intercepted by NATO, according to the Estonian Foreign Ministry and a spokesman for the alliance.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a post on X on Sunday that Russia's actions "undermine principles vital to the security of all UN member states."

"When such actions are carried out by a permanent member of the Security Council, they should be addressed by that very body," Tsahkna wrote.

According to the Estonian Foreign Ministry, the Security Council is expected to discuss what the ministry described as a "flagrant, reckless and flagrant violation of NATO airspace" and "repeated violations of international law" by Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry has denied that its planes entered Estonian airspace, insisting that the flights were carried out "in strict accordance with international rules."

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said the emergency meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on Monday.

Ukraine has also submitted a request to participate in the Security Council meeting and present its position. The request was addressed to the Republic of Korea, which holds the rotating presidency of the council.

"For the first time in 34 years, Estonia has requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. This demonstrates the unprecedented scale of the threats posed by aggressive Russia to the stability of Europe," Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote in X.

Following the airspace violation, Estonia has also requested consultations under NATO's Article 4, the mechanism that allows any member to formally bring an issue to the attention of the alliance's main political decision-making body. A meeting is due to take place this week.

Estonia is the second NATO member to request consultations under Article 4 in recent days, following Poland's request last week after several Russian drones and fighter jets entered its airspace.

Separately, Swedish and German forces reported on Sunday that Swedish JAS 39 Gripen jets and German Eurofighter jets scrambled over the southern Baltic Sea to identify and monitor a Russian IL-20 reconnaissance plane flying in international airspace without a flight plan or radio contact./ CNA, translated by CNN