"Serious incident" in Estonia: Russian helicopter violates airspace

Created: 06/21/2022, 14:55

The military helicopter Mi-8 TB.

A helicopter of this type is said to have violated Estonian airspace.

(Iconic image) © Stefan Sauer/dpa

The helicopter is in foreign territory for a good two minutes - Latvia summons an ambassador from Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to the Ukraine war.

Tallinn - The disputes over sovereignty in the Ukraine conflict are piling up.

Estonia reports: The Russian border guard has violated its airspace with a helicopter.

The Mi-8 helicopter entered the territory of the Baltic EU and NATO member on June 18 without permission, the Estonian army said.

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The foreign office in Tallinn called in the Russian ambassador under Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin because of the incident.

"Estonia considers this an extremely serious and regrettable incident, which undoubtedly creates additional tensions and is totally unacceptable," the statement said.

According to the army, it was the second airspace violation by Russia this year.

It took place in the Koidula region in south-eastern Estonia near the border with Russia and lasted almost two minutes.

The helicopter had neither transmitted a flight plan nor activated its electronic identification.

The pilot also had no radio contact with Estonia's air traffic control, it said.