Estonia accuses Russia of alleged airspace violation

The Estonian Ministry of Defense has accused a Russian military jet of entering Estonian airspace without permission on Christmas Day, local media reported on Tuesday.

A Russian An-72 military airplane entered Estonian airspace without permission at 5:25 p.m. local time on December 25, the Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) reported.

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would call in the Russian ambassador to Estonia to issue a note of protest, the ERR cited the ministry as saying.

The aircraft stayed 1.2 nautical miles into Estonian airspace for about a minute. The aircraft's transponder was switched on and it had previously given the control a flight plan, according to which it was meant to fly only in the international airspace, the defence ministry claimed.

However, Russia's Defense Ministry has refuted such allegations, Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported.

Russia said the plane "flew over neutral waters of the Baltic sea in strict compliance with the international rules and with no violation of air space of Estonia or any other state," according to the report.