Russia denies airspace violation
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that their IL-20 reconnaissance plane did not violate Estonian airspace on Tuesday.
TASS reported the Defense Ministry's as saying: "On December 9, 2014, a Russian military aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Kubinka air base in the Moscow oblast to Khrabrovo airport in the Kaliningrad oblast. The aircraft followed a predetermined flight plan that was in accordance with the strict rules of using the international airspace."
A Russian IL-20 plane entered Estonian airspace without clearance at 17:05 on Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov on Wednesday and delivered a note of protest.
The Russian IL-20 stayed in Estonian airspace for less than a minute. The plane did not have a flight plan and the transponder was switched off, although it did have radio connection with Estonian air traffic control.
The plane was identified by the Ämari-based German Eurofighters and later also by the Šiauliais-based Canadian CF-18 fighters.