Estonia seeks NATO talks after alleging Russian jets breached its airspace; Russia denies it.

Estonia has requested NATO consultations under Article 4 after alleging three Russian fighter jets entered its airspace for 12 minutes, a claim Russia denies. This marks the second use of Article 4 in two weeks, following a similar incident involving Polish airspace. Article 4 allows any NATO member to trigger urgent talks when it feels its security is threatened, promoting alliance coordination without mandating a response. Unlike Article 5, which activates collective defense and has been used only once after 9/11, Article 4 does not require action but encourages dialogue. The move reflects growing concern over Russian activity in Eastern Europe since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. NATO has invoked Article 4 only nine times since 1949, with recent uses signaling increased tensions on its eastern flank.