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Estonia’s foreign minister condemned the incursion as ‘unprecedentedly brazen’
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Russia has claimed the incursion of three fighter jets into Estonian airspace was in fact a “scheduled” flight carried out in “strict accordance” with airspace rules.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian territory on Friday night where they remained without permission for 12 minutes, the Estonian foreign ministry said.
Following the latest in a string of Russian incursions into Nato territory – following recent drone incursions into Poland and Romania – US president Donald Trump has warned of “big trouble”.
“I don’t love it. I don’t like when that happens. Could be big trouble,” he told reporters, adding that he was yet to be fully briefed on the situation.
The Russian military said the three jets made a “scheduled flight” in which the aircraft stayed on an agreed air route and did not violate Estonia’s airspace, passing instead over neutral waters.
Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsakhna said that Russia had already violated Estonian airspace four times this year but that Friday’s was “unprecedentedly brazen”.
The Russian charge d’affaires was summoned and given a protest note, a ministry statement said.
Nato will meet in Estonia early next week to discuss the Russian incursion.
Britain’s top spy has delivered a stark warning that Vladimir Putin harbours “absolutely no evidence” of a genuine desire to negotiate a peace deal for Ukraine, accusing the Russian leader of “stringing us along”.
Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6, who will step down in September after five years, made the comments in an outgoing speech. He noted that despite months of US-led talks and Donald Trump’s ultimatums, a truce appears no closer.
Speaking at the British consulate in Istanbul on Friday, Sir Richard reiterated there was “absolutely no evidence” the Russian leader wants to settle the conflict. Instead, he suggested Mr Putin seeks to “impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal”.
“But he cannot succeed,” Sir Richard said.
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Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will meet US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week in comments made to reporters.
The Ukrainian president will hold “a meeting with the President of the United States” in which he will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, he said.
Mr Zelensky and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov are due to address the General Assembly. Russian president Vladimir Putin does not traditionally attend the annual UN gathering.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukrainian forces are inflicting “heavy losses” on the Russian military in a counteroffensive in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukrainian troops pressed on with a frontline counteroffensive around the two cities of Pokrovsk and Dobropillia in the east of the country on Friday.
Russia said its forces had captured two new villages in their slow advance through Ukraine’s east and south, but its Defence Ministry made no reference to the Ukrainian counter.
In his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky said the counteroffensive had disrupted Russian plans in their longstanding objective of seizing the key tactical city of Pokrovsk, which is a critical part of Ukraine’s supply line to the frontline. .
“It was there that one of the most important directions of the Russian offensive was located, and they were unable to launch a full-fledged offensive there. Our military is destroying their forces,” Mr Zelensky said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia’s huge overnight drone attack attacks took place across nine regions, including Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv.
The Russian military fired more than 600 drones and missiles into Ukrainian territory overnight, Kyiv’s air force said.
“The enemy’s target was our infrastructure, residential areas and civilian enterprises,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that a missile equipped with cluster munitions struck a multi-story building in the city of Dnipro.
“Each such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to intimidate civilians and destroy our infrastructure,” he added.
Donald Trump has warned that a third Russian incursion into Nato airspace, in which three fighter jet spent 12 minutes in Estonian airspace, could spell “big trouble” for Moscow.
It is the latest in a series of provocations by the Russian military, which has repeatedly sent drones into Poland and Romania as Moscow argues that Nato is already “fighting against Russia”.
“Nato is providing direct and indirect support to the Kyiv regime,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “It can be said with absolute certainty that Nato is fighting against Russia.”
Yet as Russia stages incursions into Nato territory and organises major drills with Belarus, experts say that Vladimir Putin is testing Nato’s response through its more aggressive movements past Ukrainian borders.
Russian troops have taken control of the village of Berezove in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry said its forces had successfully carried out strikes with high-precision weapons on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities overnight.
The Independent could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
Russia launched more than 600 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, in one of the largest air attacks of the war so far.
A total of 619 drones and missiles, including 579 drones, eight ballistic missiles and 32 cruise missiles, were detected.
Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized 552 drones, two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles.
“During the air strike, tactical aviation, in particular F-16 fighters, effectively worked on the enemy’s cruise missiles. Western weapons once again prove their effectiveness on the battlefield,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Three people were killed and dozens injured in a major Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
The Ukrainian president said on X that Russia launched around 580 drones and 40 missiles targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure, civilian production companies, and residential areas in different regions across the country.
“Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorize civilians and destroy our infrastructure,” Mr Zelensky wrote.
“That is why a strong international response is needed. Ukraine has proven it can defend itself and Europe, but for a reliable shield, we must act together: strengthen air defence, increase weapons supplies, and expand sanctions against Russia’s military machine and the sectors that finance it.”
NATO is set to assemble in Estonia next week to discuss Russia’s incursion into its airspace.
Allison Hart, the organisation’s spokesperson, said that the North Atlantic Council would convene early next week.
Estonia requested consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty.
The article states that parties will consult together when “the territorial integrity, political independence or security” of any party is at risk.
It was last triggered by Poland on 10 September after Russia’s incursion into its airspace.
Earlier, Mrs Hart condemned the airspace violence. “This is yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and NATO’s ability to respond,” she said.
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