Baku-APA. Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) reported on Thursday the details of a Russian military airplane's violation of Estonian airspace on Tuesday, but Russia said it did nothing of the sort, APA reports quoting XInhua.
The Russian Ministry of Defence denied flying the Russian IL-20 reconnaissance plane over Estonian airspace on Oct. 21, claiming they were following a flight plan over international waters.
"The flight was conducted in strict accordance with international laws on airspace usage," the Russian ministry was quoted as saying in the ERR report.
However, on the Estonian national media website, there were reports that the IL-20 was 500m deep in Estonian airspace west of Hiiumaa and Saaremaa islands in the early afternoon with no flight plan, its transponder switched off, and refusing radio contact with Estonian air traffic controllers.
Portuguese F-16 fighter jets took off from Siauliai in Lithuania and established visual contact. By that time, the aircraft was back over international waters.
Marko Mihkelson, the head of the Estonian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the recent "intrusion" is different than usual airspace violations, according to the ERR report.
He said on his social media site that the norm for airspace violations is "intrusions" near Vaindloo Island in northern Estonia that last under a minute. Such violations result from an unsolved airspace issue where Russian air traffic control overlaps Estonian airspace.
"The reconnaissance aircraft might not have just gotten lost as Russian activity on and over the Baltic Sea has increased recently," Mihkelson said.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
