‘Not Acceptable At All’: Norway Claims Russia Violated Its Airspace 3 Times This Year

Last Updated:September 23, 2025, 16:59 IST

Norway accused Russia of three airspace violations in 2025, with incidents over the Barents Sea and Finnmark.

Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere. (File)

Norway on Tuesday accused Russia of violating its airspace at least three times this year, saying that it was unclear if this was deliberate or the result of navigation errors.

The Norwegian government said that the incidents, which lasted between one and four minutes, were the first such violations by Russia in more than a decade, news agency Reuters reported, citing the government’s statement.

“We can’t determine whether this was done deliberately or whether it was due to navigation errors. Regardless of the reason, this is not acceptable and we have made that clear to Russian authorities,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said as quoted by the news agency.

Two of the incidents, on April 25 and August 18, took place over the Arctic Barents Sea, while the third, on July 24, was over an uninhabited part of Finnmark, Norway’s northernmost county, which shares a border with Russia.

Norway’s accusations came days after Estonia accused Russia of violating its airspace. Last week, Estonia said that the three fighter jets entered its airspace without permission in the area of Vaindloo Island, around 100 kilometres (124 miles) from the capital Tallinn, and stayed there for a total of 12 minutes.

Soon, Italy, Finland and Sweden scrambled military jets attached to NATO’s air defence support mission to intercept the Russian jets and warn them off.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the incident was “part of a broader pattern of escalation by Russia, both regionally and globally,” adding that “this behavior requires an international response.”

However, the Kremlin rejected Estonia’s allegations and warned that countries making such accusations risked “escalating tensions”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Tallinn’s accusations, saying the Russian military operates “strictly within the confines of international law, including those pertaining to flights”, news agency AFP reported.

Meanwhile, Tallinn requested for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over the airspace violation. It also requested an urgent consultation with other NATO members under Article 4 of the NATO treaty to discuss the issue.

Earlier, Poland invoked Article 4 after around 20 Russian drones violated its airspace.

(With inputs from agencies)

About the Author

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More

Read More

Go to Source