Estonia's prime minister accuses Moscow, after the Russian incursions: “He wants to make us talk about ourselves, not Ukraine”

Estonia Prime Minister Kristen Michal warned on Tuesday that Russia's recent air incursions are an attempt to distract Europe from Ukraine's support.

“Putin wants to make us talk about ourselves, not about Ukraine, not about help for Ukraine, not about rejecting Russia in Ukraine,” Michal said in an interview with AFP in Copenhagen.

Three Russian hunting aircraft violated Estonia's airspace in the Gulf of Finland for 12 minutes, on September 19. NATO airplanes were raised from the ground, and Russian planes were later “forced to escape.” The head of EU diplomacy has accused Russia of committing an “extremely dangerous challenge.”

Moscow denied the incident. The Russian Ministry of Defense transmitted, in a statement, that “on September 19, three Russian MIG-31 fighter jets made a scheduled flight from Karelia to an aerodrome in the Kaliningrad region. The flight took place in strict compliance with the international norms regarding the use of air space, without violating the borders of other states, as confirmed.”

Also, Moscow gives assurances that “the Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed air route and did not violate the Estonian airspace”

“The flight route of the aircraft became the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, at a distance of more than three kilometers from the island of Vaindlo,” says the Russian Ministry.