Estonia has called for urgent discussions with NATO allies after three Russian fighter jets breached its airspace in what has been described as a ‘reckless’ and ‘brazen’ effort to intimidate the Baltic nation. 

Donald Trump cautioned about ‘big trouble’ following the incursion, where powerful MiG-31 warplanes spent 12 minutes within Estonian airspace on Friday while conducting combat exercises to test the nation’s defenses. 

The move sparked an emergency response from Nato, which sent in F-35 fighters to intercept the Russian aggression.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper posted on social media that the UK ‘stands with our Estonian allies’.  

Despite Trump’s denunciation of the action, Vladimir Putin proceeded with a damaging overnight assault on Ukraine, resulting in the death of at least three individuals and injuring many others. 

Russia deny violating Estonian airspace, but tensions have continued to heighten, as in further provocation by Putin, two Russian jets also made a show of force over a Polish oil platform in the Baltic Sea, breaching its safety zone.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said his country had decided to ask Nato to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance’s treaty, which formally starts urgent consultations within the 32-member alliance.

‘Such a violation is completely unacceptable. Nato’s response to any provocation must be united and strong,’ Michal said.

‘We consider it essential to consult with our allies to ensure shared situational awareness and to agree on our next joint steps’.

Former RAF commander last night called on Nato to draw a ‘red line’ in the sand – and hinted at shooting down future Russian jets. 

When asked if there was a ‘threat to Nato’ during an executive order signing in the Oval Office, Trump said: ‘I don’t love it. I don’t like it when that happens. It could be big trouble.’   

The US President went on to add that he would soon be briefed on reports, and made it clear he was not pleased with the situation.

Zelensky said 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 terrorise civilians and destroy our infrastructure,’ Zelensky said in a statement on the Telegram app.

With air alerts lasting about 11 hours in some regions during the night, the Russian attacks were carried out in two waves, Ukrainian military analysts said. 

Ukrainian air defence shot down 552 drones and 31 missiles, the air force added. 

One person was killed in Dnipro, while two people were killed in the Chernihiv region in the north and the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of the country, regional officials said. 

At least 30 people were injured in the attack in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, local governor Serhii Lysak said. 

In the Kyiv region, local authorities said there were strikes in the areas of Bucha, Boryspil and Obukhiv, with homes and cars damaged in the strikes.

Footage appears to show Ukraine has struck back with combined attacks on two Russian oil refineries.

Ukraine claims it has hit the refinery in Novokuibyshevsk and another target in the Samara region of Russia.

The oil refineries are known to be regular targets for Ukrainian drones and both were said to be hit in the early hours of Saturday. 

Zelensky said he would hold ‘a meeting with the President of the United States’, adding he would discuss security guarantees for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia during the talks with Trump. 

A US-led push for a quick end to the war has stalled and Russia effectively ruled out a meeting between Putin and Zelensky – something that Kyiv says is the only way towards peace.

‘We expect sanctions if there is no meeting between the leaders or, for example, no ceasefire,’ Zelensky said in comments released by the Ukrainian presidency on Saturday.

Zelensky has also urged Kyiv’s allies to provide more air defence systems and hit Moscow with extra sanctions.

‘Ukraine has proven it can defend itself and Europe, but for a reliable shield, we must act together,’ he said.

Air Marshal Greg Bagwell wrote on social media platform X: ‘NATO needs to make some clear and public statements as to what it considers a red line.’ 

The veteran, who served in the force for 36 years and retired as its deputy commander, continued: ‘When it is crossed, the promised response is given, which should be lethal force after a clear warning.

‘NATO has to be united now, with a clear and unequivocal statement about what will not be tolerated. 

‘Right now we don’t know where our red lines are, why should we expect Russia to? 

‘And if that red line is crossed then the response must be decisive and ruthless.’ 

Following the airstrike on Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft were deployed early on Saturday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the armed forces of the NATO-member country said.

‘Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness, ‘ the operational command said in a post on X.

Polish and allied air forces have since ended the operation as airstrikes against Ukraine were ceased, the operational command said.

The Polish command added that the actions were ‘preventative and aimed at securing airspace in areas adjacent to the threatened area’.

It comes as MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore blasted the Russian president, calling him a ‘liar’ who wants to ‘impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal’.

The breach of Estonian airspace was condemned by European leaders. A Nato spokesman said: ‘This is yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and Nato’s ability to respond.’

Estonian foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said Russia had already entered Estonian airspace four times this year.

He added: ‘That is unacceptable in itself, but today’s violation, during which three fighter jets entered our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen. 

‘Russia’s ever-increasing testing of borders and aggressiveness must be responded to by rapidly strengthening political and economic pressure.’

The prime minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, said his government had ‘decided to request Nato Article 4 consultations’. 

Article 4 is a call to the 32-member Nato alliance, including the US, to come to consult on collective defence in response to specific threats.

The RAF’s Mr Bagwell called the Russian incursion into Estonia ‘a deliberate provocation to sow doubt and confusion amongst Nato nations’. 

 ‘Today these aircraft were only armed with air-to-air missiles but tomorrow it could be something more sinister,’ he warned. 

‘Putin could have a few objectives here: one) to provoke a response in order to support his argument that Nato is the aggressor; two) to sow discord amongst Nato nations in formulating a response; three) to push the boundaries of the ‘grey zone’. Of course he could be trying all three!’ 

The air marshal, who oversaw operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, continued: ‘The grey zone has become a convenient term to hide all manner of “ills”. 

‘We need to turn that zone into a clear delineation of black and white – and act accordingly when that line is crossed. It’s time to stop Putin calling the shots.’

Russia denied its aircraft violated Estonia’s airspace with an online statement published early Saturday, stressing its fighter jets had kept to neutral Baltic Sea waters more than 3 kilometers from Estonia’s Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland.

It comes a week after Kremlin drones flew more than 100 miles inside Poland on a reconnaissance mission. Both incidents have exposed holes in Nato defences.

Estonia became the third member state to be ‘invaded’ by Russia in just a month after an incursion into Romanian aerial territory last weekend.

The latest incident comes after US President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had ‘really let him down’ over Ukraine.

While the incursions into Poland and Romania were by drones, this time Russia sent manned frontline jets bristling with weapons.

Italian F-35s were scrambled to intercept the MiG-31s which then returned to Kremlin airspace. They had encroached five miles inside Estonia. 

Afterwards, Estonia summoned Russian officials in Tallinn for an explanation. The Russian charge d’affaires was summoned and given a protest note, a ministry statement said.

The Russian MiG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace in the area of Vaindloo Island, located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. The aircraft did not have flight plans and their transponders were turned off, according to Estonian officials.

Separately, Russian planes flew parallel to the Estonian border from east to west and did not head toward the country’s capital Tallinn. 

In another intimidating move, two Russian jets yesterday conducted a low pass over the Polish-owned Petrobaltic offshore production facility in the Baltic. Polish armed forces were alerted as the platform’s safety zone was violated.

Other alliance countries have reported similar incursions and drone crashes on their territory. The developments have increasingly rattled European governments as US-led efforts to stop the war in Ukraine have come to nothing.

Estonia, along with other Baltic states Lithuania and Latvia, are seen as being among the most likely targets if Russia one day decides to risk an attack on Nato. 

Neighbouring Poland, though much larger, also feels vulnerable. All four countries are staunch supporters of Ukraine.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called Friday’s incursion ‘an extremely dangerous provocation’ that ‘further escalates tensions in the region’.

Ms Kallas, who is Estonian, said the EU will ‘continue to support our member states in strengthening their defences with European resources.’ She added that Putin was ‘testing the West’s resolve’ and said ‘we must not show weakness’.

Lithuanian defence minister Dovile Sakaliene said Nato’s border in the north east of Europe was being tested ‘for a reason’. She added: ‘We need to mean business.’

Former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also weighed in on the row.

He said: ‘Russia escalates, we do nothing, Russia escalates more, we do nothing, Russia escalates even more, we do nothing… I think I am starting to see a pattern here.’

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky described the menace as ‘outrageous’ and insisted it was ‘not an accident’.

He added: ‘It requires a systemic response. Strong action must be taken – both collectively and individually by each nation.

Yvette Cooper condemned Russian’s ‘reckelss incursion’, saying it was time to increase economic pressure on Putin.

The Kremlin has not commented on the incident.