U.S. vows to defend every inch of NATO territory after Estonian airspace incursion

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Monday that the United States and its NATO allies will defend every inch of alliance territory after Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace. The remarks came during the opening of the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. Estonia reported that three Russian MiG-31 jets briefly penetrated its airspace, remaining inside for about 12 minutes and were armed, underscoring concerns about Moscow testing NATO's resolve near its borders.

Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the jets were armed and that the incursion was the closest to Tallinn’s Parliament building in years, raising alarms about Moscow’s posture toward the Baltic region. The episode occurred as Western leaders assess Russia’s broader campaign in Ukraine and the risk of spillover into NATO territory. NATO and Estonian authorities emphasized that defensive measures were in place, and that operations near the alliance’s eastern flank are conducted within existing airspace rules and alliance protocols.

Waltz’s confirmation to the U.N. Security Council last week, by a 47-43 vote, followed his tenure as a Florida congressman and as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser until May. The verification as U.S. permanent representative to the Security Council came amid a broader push to emphasize U.S. and allied deterrence at the United Nations level. A separate vote to confirm him as the U.N. representative to the General Assembly had not occurred as of Monday, and it remained unclear how that status would affect his participation in UNGA proceedings.

The Estonia incident followed other Russian actions near European borders, including reports that at least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace in the days after Polish President Karol Nawrocki met with President Donald Trump at the White House. Romania also reported finding a Shahed drone of Russian origin on its soil. Russia rejected the reports, with its U.N. envoy arguing there is no proof and characterizing Western coverage as Russophobic hysteria. Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, accused Tallinn of exaggerating the event and said European states’ alleged anti-Russia rhetoric had become an operating doctrine.

Tsahkna said the incursions were a breach of international norms and a reminder of the risk of escalation in the region. He stressed that NATO’s response would be governed by the alliance’s Article 5 framework, which holds that an armed attack against one or more NATO members in Europe or North America is considered an attack against them all. In practice, this arrangement commits member states to take action, including the possibility of collective defense measures, if a member is attacked or threatened.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on the Estonian jet incursions at Tallinn’s request. Estonia’s government framed the event within a pattern of destabilizing behavior associated with Moscow’s war in Ukraine and warned that such provocation undermines the international community’s efforts to restore peace and stability in accordance with international law.

Russia, for its part, has sought to frame the incursions as mischaracterizations or as part of broader narratives about Western hostility toward Russia. Moscow’s representatives at the U.N. argued that Western media and Tallinn’s officials were inflating the threat, insisting that no evidence had been provided to corroborate the claims of armed jets in Estonian airspace. The discrepancy underscores the volatility of the situation as world leaders navigate a fragile balance between deterrence and de-escalation in an area that has become a focal point of NATO-Russia tensions.

Analysts say the events reflect Moscow’s willingness to push the boundaries near NATO borders while NATO allies maintain a deterrence posture designed to prevent miscalculation that could lead to a broader confrontation. The Baltic states have long warned that their strategic location makes them a potential flashpoint in any wider conflict involving Russia, a concern that has intensified since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly a year prior to these events.

As world leaders debate next steps at the United Nations, U.S. officials and their allies are expected to reinforce commitments to collective defense and to continue monitoring airspace incursions along NATO’s eastern flank. The cadence of incidents and the corresponding political statements highlight how rapidly security dynamics in Europe can shift when airspace is breached and diplomatic channels are tested.