The Norwegian authorities reported on Tuesday that Russian planes violated the country's airspace three times in 2025. «This year, Russia has violated Norway's airspace three times. The incidents in Norway are less serious in terms of location and duration than those that occurred in Estonia, Poland, and Romania. Nevertheless, these are still serious incidents», — said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in a statement, published on the Norwegian government's website.
According to government data, on April 25, a Su-24 fighter spent about four minutes over the sea in Norwegian airspace, on July 24, a Russian L-410 Turbolet flew for three minutes over uninhabited Norwegian territory along the border with Russia, and on August 18, a Su-33 fighter flew for a minute over the sea in Norwegian airspace. There had been no such incidents for ten years.
Norway became the fourth NATO country, besides Poland, Estonia, and Romania, to accuse Russia of violating airspace. Meanwhile, the previous evening, airports in Norway and Denmark were closed due to unidentified drones, and the latter's authorities do not rule out Moscow's involvement.
Norway's statement was published after the conclusion of the North Atlantic Council consultations at Estonia's request, during which Russia was demanded to cease «reckless actions». «Russia should not doubt: NATO and allies will use [...] all necessary military and non-military means for self-defense and deterrence of any threats from all directions. Our commitment to Article 5 is unwavering», — the statement said.
Answering journalists' questions about NATO's readiness to shoot down Russian planes in case of invasion of the alliance's airspace, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that decisions will be made «in real-time based on the available information about the threat posed by the aircraft». He also added that in the case of Estonia, there was «no immediate threat».
Earlier, Poland stated that it would shoot down drones and planes that invade its space. Later, Sweden made a similar statement. «In the so-called IKFN ordinance [on the actions of the army in case of violations of Swedish territory], the government gave the Armed Forces instructions on how to deal with intruding aircraft. This includes the right, if necessary, to use weapons — with or without warning», — stated Defense Minister Paul Jonson. He also noted that all countries should adopt a new European mindset — «from peacetime thinking to readiness for wartime».