Part 3/15:
This tough stance comes amid a flurry of Russian provocations designed to test NATO's resolve. Recently, Russian reconnaissance planes have repeatedly intruded into neutral airspace, often without flight plans or radio contact, forcing NATO fighters from Germany and Sweden to scramble in dangerous intercepts. Such "dark flights" are reckless, endangering both military and civilian traffic, and heightened NATO criticism.
Further, in Estonia over Vandaloo Island, Russian MiG-31s crossed into airspace for 12 minutes—its longest breach in years—ignored the Italian F-35 interceptors, and finally turned away. These incidents exemplify Moscow's pattern: deliberate provocations aimed at unsettling NATO's eastern flank and probing the alliance’s limits.