The Baltic state, a member of the NATO alliance, also said that the ongoing Russian military exercises simulate daily missile strikes against its country. “This is the image of the threat. How do we see the Russian threat … It has never been so serious as it is now,” Kusti Salm, a senior civil servant in the Estonian Ministry of Defense, told reporters on Tuesday. A “knockout blow” is coming to the war – most recently in Ukraine The hostility came as Russia was embroiled in a bitter exchange of views with Lithuania, another Baltic state and a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime, following Vilnius’ decision to block the transit of certain goods subject to of Kaliningrad. It also came just days before the heads of state and government of NATO’s 30-member alliance met for a landmark summit in Madrid to present plans for a fundamental overhaul of their defense in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Estonia said it had summoned the Russian ambassador to Tallinn to protest the flight of a MI-8 border guard helicopter, which it said had entered Estonian airspace for two minutes without permission on Saturday night. The incident took place in the southern region of Koidula, not far from the Russian city of Pskov, according to a statement from the Estonian army. Mr Salm said there had been “multiple border violations by helicopter” from Russia last week. He said one helicopter had crossed the border, while another flew too close. He described these incidents by helicopter as “several times in the area”. Read more: UK likely to add hundreds more troops to NATO force in Estonia Estonian prime minister urges West to remain steady despite pressure for economic repercussions Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:28 February: British troops exercise in Estonia A senior Estonian civil servant said: “Crossing the border by helicopter can not be wrong – there have been many examples in recent days. “Apart from the border operations, there have been provocative actions that have been flying very close to the border in recent days.” Russia is also conducting military exercises involving missile simulation in neighboring Baltic. “It’s real-life. They actually simulate rocket attacks on NATO territory and tell us they are doing it,” Salm said.
