Estonia said on Thursday that Moscow had briefly sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an attempt to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a shadow fleet defying Western sanctions on Moscow.

Russia deployed a fighter jet in NATO airspace this week after Estonia tried to inspect a so-called shadow fleet tanker passing the EU-member’s economic area, Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.

A Russian Su-35 violated Estonian airspace on May 13, 2025, to disrupt efforts to inspect a ghost fleet tanker, escalating tensions in the Baltic Sea region.