Estonia claims Russia is ready to shield its "shadow fleet" amid fighter jet incident

He said this before the start of an informal meeting of NATO ministers in Antalya on Thursday, according to European Pravda.

Tsahkna said Russia sent a warplane after Estonia tried to detain the UK-sanctioned, flagless tanker Jaguar heading to Russia.

"The Russian Federation sent a fighter jet to assess the situation, and it violated NATO airspace for about one minute," the Estonian minister said.

He stressed that this shows Russia is "ready to defend its shadow fleet."

"The situation is truly serious," Tsahkna added.

According to the minister, NATO air policing jets stationed in the Baltics were scrambled to assess the situation with the Russian aircraft.

The Estonian Navy had attempted to stop the tanker Jaguar as it transited international waters in the Gulf of Finland toward Russia’s Primorsk port. The vessel is believed to be part of Russia’s "shadow fleet."

Reportedly, the tanker's crew ignored Estonian border guards’ instructions but eventually left Estonia’s exclusive economic zone. The ship is also on the UK’s sanctions list.

In response to the actions of Estonian forces, Russia deployed a fighter jet that, according to Estonia’s military, violated the country’s airspace.