NATO chief clashes with Estonia over Article 4 response to Russia

Exclusive: The recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace stefted sections within the alliance on how to respond, and exposed both the strength and limits of mass defense.

Secretary -General Mark Root clashed with Estonian Prime Minister Christine Michel last week after Estonia NATO summoned Article 4 Item, which leads to consultations when a member feels that his security is threatened.

According to three European officials, they granted anonymity to speak freely, Rott argued that repeated invitations had risked the relief of the treaty. One of the sources said that he raised his voice in Michel, warning that NATO should be careful about the number of times he indicates an alarm.

Root argued that if Article 4 is called every time Russia violates sovereignty – through drones, combat aircraft, electronic attacks and more, it will quickly lose its impact, according to officials.

Denmark, which provokes Article 4 of NATO after the drones fly over airports

NATO Secretary -General Mark Retty in front of NATO and Ukraine flags (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

NATO spokesman Rutte and Michal confirmed on Friday and the Secretary -General said, “Estonia’s support throughout the operation.”

“She expressed her support for Estonia and the Prime Minister who thanked NATO for his actions,” Roda, Director of the Government Communications Office in Estonia, told Fox News Digital Rutte.

“Article 4 is just an indication that we notice what happened,” said Gidmas Giglingsas, a member of the Latoian Parliament and a former NATO Secretary -General. “We can defend Article 4 every week, and I think this only weakens us, because we are not really able to respond to this aggression that Russia is a kind of throwing on us.”

Tension comes after a series of provocative moves by Moscow. Last month, carrying missiles The Russian Mig-29s flew to the Estonian lands, After a previous violation of the Polish air field of 19 drones and repeated penetrations on Romania. In Poland, the planes were quick to intercept drones, and some of them were photographing. This was the first time since the Second World War that the Polish armed forces mobilized to involve an air threat to their homeland.

Ultimately, Russian aircraft in Estonia were carried out from its territory by the Italian F-35S. The request of Article 4 in Estonia followed the day of protest in Poland a few days ago, which prompted another round of consultations in Brussels.

MiG-29 Jet fighters performed during the Red Square Victory Day in Moscow on June 24, 2020. (Sefa Karaacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Since its establishment in 1949, Article 4 has been operated only nine times. NATO’s warning to Russia was explicitly: Any other violations of the “all means” of defense will be met. Estonia’s defense minister said that his nation was ready to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate the airspace “if there is a need.”

But Jeglinskas said the signal without a result risk leaving the coalition is trapped.

“We are pleased to do Article 4 every day, but what about that? He said. “The real question is what happens when aircraft are already inserted into the airspace.”

The discussion reduces a deeper question: What is a “need” to shoot down Russian aircraft? How can Russia be deterred without stumbling in the direct war?

“The last thing we want is to be attracted in a war with Russia,” a senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told Fox News Digital. “God knows how that ends.”

“Almost all wars … do not necessarily start with a big explosion,” the official went. “They start with an escalation, and then someone feels that he needs to respond to this, then get a toxic cycle.”

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The United States promised to defend “every inch” of NATO while pressing Europe to bear more of its defense burden. Washington mixed signals have only complex matters.

Trump administration officials have long preferred to limit the presence of American forces in Europe. But President Donald Trump recently delivered one of the most prominent warnings to Moscow, announcing that NATO countries should shoot Russian aircraft if their lands incurred.

Giglsenkas said the statement echoed through the Baltic countries. “What was really useful was that President Trump was very clear,” he said. “This gives us confidence, we are on the right track, and we really appreciate support.”

However, the allies remain divided into escalating. Some warn that Eastern Europe cannot threaten revenge without an American security guarantee. Others argue that deterrence depends on showing that its incursions into Russia bears a cost.

“If we really want to send an appropriate deterrent message to Russia, we must be ready to use the motor force.” “This means neutralizing these aircraft – dropping them or finding other ways to impose consequences – so Russia actually feels the cost of their penetration. This has not yet happened, and we leave at risk.”

Estonia Prime Minister Christine Michel led his country to summon Article 4 after the penetration of the Russian jet. (Piroschka Van de Wouw/Reuters)

Air field conflicts now extend beyond combat aircraft. European Union members meet in Copenhagen this week to discuss the detained air defenses after a wave of drones. Denmark was briefly closed in the airspace after mysterious aircraft activity, while Velnes Airport in Lithuania and Norway Airport reported disturbances. The drones have been monitored on the northern state of Chfig Holstein in Germany.

“We are not in war, but we are also no longer in peace. We have to do a lot for our security,” said German Chancellor Freders Mirz in Dusseldorf.

NATO Gates stood to intercept drones on Poland, but the response confirmed the increasing incompatibility: fighters deployed millions of dollars to confront small and inhabited aircraft, neither efficiency nor sustainable.

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“NATO is still the most important element in our safety equation,” said Giglsenkas. “It is the backbone of our security. There is no doubt about the political will of NATO and its ability to defend its lands, but the war is changing – and the question now is that NATO adapts to the new way of war that leaks through the borders of Ukraine?”

Jeglinskas warned that NATO and the Baltic countries have done enough. “The Polish incursion indicates that NATO is not completely ready to face these threats,” he said. “The flight of aircraft is an enormous economic identical. If these types of attacks become swarms, they are not sustainable.”

A French fighter plane is seen after landing in the wake of a joint mission with the Polish F16S at an air base in Minsk Mazuke on September 17, 2025, as part of the eastern guard mission (Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images)

To treat installation threats, NATO launched the Eastern Sentry, which enhances its presence on the eastern side of Europe. Jeglinskas welcomed this step, but it remains the gaps.

“The planes are very important, but more aircraft do not mean that we are safer than low -height drones,” he said. “The question is: Do we have sensors that can discover what is happening from A to Z to a kilometer in our airspace? We don’t see it. It is like a dead space.”

Jeglinskas called for a short and medium -range radar, as well as defenses with a layer similar to the Israeli iron dome, capable of intercepting drones with both kinetic and electronic means.

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He said: “NATO’s response is worthy of praise, but it is not enough. You need technical knowledge, appropriate capabilities, and the really compact systems if you want to do this work.”

Currently, NATO is still a result of a signal solution and work on it. As Russia continues to test the borders of the coalition, Jeglinskas and other Eastern European officials warn that credibility is at stake. They argue that the next incursion may ask more than words.