Yesterday, officials confirmed they tried to stop a Gabonese-flagged vessel, suspected to be part of Russia's shadow fleet, in Estonia's EEZ. The tanker ignored the order and left Estonia's waters. A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 flew in Estonia's airspace the same evening, the Defense Forces said.

Officials did not directly connect the two incidents.

But, on Thursday, Tsahkna gave more details. He wrote on X that the "fighter jet violated NATO airspace to protect a shadow fleet tanker."

"Estonia exercised its right to inspect a shadow fleet vessel passing through its exclusive economic zone, the unflagged and uninsured Argent/Jaguar, which is sanctioned by the United Kingdom," Tsahkna said in a statement.

"Russia responded dangerously aggressively by accompanying the shadow fleet tanker with a fighter jet, which violated Estonian airspace in the process. This case is yet another example proving that Russia poses a serious threat not only with its military action in Ukraine, but much more broadly," he said.

Russian investigative outlet The Insider reported that "Jaguar" is listed by Ukrainian intelligence and the international NGO Greenpeace as part of Russia's "shadow fleet."  

The minister made the comments at the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Antalya, Turkey.

Tshkna posted on X that he had also informed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the incident.

Informed @SecRubio of a recent incident where a Russian fighter violated Estonian airspace with overflights near the shadow fleet vessel Jaguar.

Another sign of continuing Russian hostility in the Baltic sea area & a demonstration of Russia's direct link to the shadow fleet. pic.twitter.com/F6y4rA2rFI

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) May 15, 2025

Defense Forces more cautious

While the foreign minister made a direct connection between the fighter jet and the vessel, the Estonian Defense Forces struck a more cautious tone.

It only confirmed the plane violated Estonian airspace at the same time as the tanker was being escorted.

"Whether the airspace violation by the Russian SU-35 was connected to the earlier naval activity is a question for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The fact is that on May 13, Russia violated Estonian airspace, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a diplomatic note to the Russian chargé d'affaires in Estonia," a spokesperson told ERR on Thursday.

The EDF said Estonia has the right to inspect whether vessels passing through its exclusive economic zone comply with regulations.

"From the Navy's perspective, escorting ships is standard practice, as guarding the maritime border is one of the Navy's duties," said Liis Vaksmann from the Defense Forces General Staff's press office.

The "Jaguar" incident came to light through the Polish portal Defence24.pl, which reported that a video of the incident was circulating online. In the video, a person behind the camera speaking Russian says: "We are being met by helicopters, they are demanding that we drop anchor."

Estonia has been checking the insurance documents of suspected shadow fleet vessels sailing through the Gulf of Finland for almost a year. Many of the vessels are used to evade Western sanctions, transport Russian oil and are in bad condition.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) has called the situation an "environmental disaster" waiting to happen. The only questions are when and where it happens, he said.

In April, law enforcement agencies detained and then released a ship in Estonian waters for sailing without a flag.

The "Jaguar" was headed to the port of Primorsk in Russia's Leningrad Region and reached its destination on Thursday morning.

This article was updated to add comments from the Estonian Defense Forces.

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