Estonia accuses Russia of airspace violation
Xinhua, November 2, 2016 Adjust font size:
Estonia accused Russia of violating its airspace on Tuesday, the Estonian Broadcasting Corporation (ERR) has reported, alleging it is the sixth such incident in the past year.
An Antonov An-148 aircraft of the Russian border guard entered Estonian airspace without permission near the island of Vaindloo in the Gulf of Finland at 9:33 a.m. local time on Tuesday and remained on Estonian territory for about a minute, the ERR quoted a Estonian military spokesman as saying.
On October 7, a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet of the Russian armed forces allegedly entered Estonian airspace without permission in the area of the island of Vaindloo at 2:38 a.m. and spent less than a minute in Estonian airspace. The plane's transponder was switched off. It did not file a flight plan, nor did it maintain radio contact with Estonian Air Navigation Services, according to Estonian authorities.
Before the October event, Estonian defence authorities believed Russian military aircrafts entered its space for four times since the beginning of this year, respectively on September 5, June 7 ,March 28, and February 18, according to an Estonian military spokesman.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Tallinn to hand him a note of protest, according to the ERR. Endit