The NATO chief comes up against Estonia on article 4 response to Russia

EXCLUSIVE: Recent Russian incursions in NATO airspace have sharpened divisions within the Alliance on how to react, exposing both the strength and the limits of collective defense.

Secretary General Mark Rutte clashed with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal last week after Estonia invoked the NATO article 4 clause, which triggers consultations when a member considers that his security is threatened.

According to three European officials have granted anonymity to speak freely, Rutte argued that repeated invocations were likely to dilute the strength of the treaty. One source said that he had even raised his voice to Michal, warning that NATO should be careful about the frequency of the alarm.

Rutte argued that if article 4 was invoked whenever Russia violated sovereignty – by drone incursions, fighter planes, cyber attacks and even more – it would quickly lose the impact, according to the officials.

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NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, in front of the flags of NATO and Ukraine (Thomas Peter / Reuters)

A NATO spokesperson confirmed that Rutte and Michal said on Friday and said that the secretary general “supported Estonia throughout the process.”

Rasmus Ruuda, director of the government of government communication in Estonia, told Fox News Digital Rutte “expressed his support for Estonia and that the Prime Minister thanked NATO for his actions”.

“Article 4 is only a signal that we take note of what has happened,” said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a Lithuanian deputy and former Deputy Secretary General of NATO. “We can invoke article 4 every week, and I think it weakens us, because we cannot really respond to this attack that Russia is somewhat launched to us.”

The tension comes after a series of provocative movements from Moscow. Last month, the Russian MIG-29s who carry missiles stolen in the Estonian territory, following an earlier violation of Polish airspace by 19 drones and repeated incursions on Romania. In Poland, jets rushed to intercept drones, pulling some of them. He has marked the first time since the Second World War that the Polish armed forces would have mobilized to engage an airborne threat on their homeland.

The Russian jets in Estonia were finally escorted outside its territory by the Italian F-35. The request for article 4 of Estonia followed the own days of invocation from Poland earlier, causing another series of consultations in Brussels.

The fighters of the MIG-29 jets occurred during a parade on the day of the Red Place in Moscow on June 24, 2020. (Sefa Karacan / Anadolu agency via Getty Images)

Since its creation in 1949, article 4 has only been triggered nine times. NATO warning to Russia after the Estonian request was frank: any other violation would be encountered by “all means” of the defense. The Minister of Defense of Estonia said that his nation was ready to shoot Russian planes violating airspace “if there was a need.”

But Jeglinskas said that the signaling without consequence of the risks leaving the Trank Alliance.

“We are happy to make article 4 every two days, but then what is the next one?” He said. “The real question is what is happening when the jets really enter our airspace.”

The debate reduces a deeper question: what is a “need” to shoot down Russian planes? How did Russia dissipate without tripping in direct war?

“The last thing we want is to bring NATO into a war with Russia,” said a state official at Fox News Digital. “God knows how it ends.”

“Almost all wars … They don’t necessarily start with a big bang,” continued the official. “They start with an escalation, then someone feels that they have to answer this, then you find yourself in a toxic spiral.”

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The United States has promised to defend NATO “each thumb” while pressing Europe to support more of its own defense burden. Washington’s mixed signals have only complicated questions.

Trump administration officials have long favored the reduction of the presence of American troops in Europe. But President Donald Trump recently pronounced one of the most stardy warnings in Moscow, declaring that NATO states should shoot Russian planes if they engage in their territory.

Jeglinskas said the statement had resonated through the Baltic States. “What was really useful is that President Trump was very clear,” he said. “It gives us confidence that we are on the right track, and we really appreciate support.”

However, the allies remain divided on the opportunity to degenerate. Some warn that Eastern Europe cannot credibly threaten reprisals without warranty of American security. Others argue that deterrence depends on the mountain of Russia that its incursions bear a cost.

“If we really want to send a deterrent message appropriate to Russia, we must be ready to use kinetic strength,” said Jeglinskas. “This means neutralizing these jets – shooting them or finding other ways to impose the consequences – so Russia actually feels the cost of its incursions. This has not yet happened, and it makes us vulnerable.”

The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, directed her country by invoking article 4 after the Russian jet incursions. (Piroschka van de Wouw / Reuters)

Airspace disputes are now extending beyond fighter planes. The members of the European Union are meeting in Copenhagen this week to discuss reprint aerial defenses after a wave of drone observations. Denmark briefly closed its airspace following a mysterious drone activity, while Vilnius airport in Lithuania and Norway Oslo airport also reported disturbances. Drones have even been identified in the northern state of Germany from Schleswig-Holstein.

“We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either. We must do much more for our own security,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Düsseldorf.

NATO jets rushed to intercept drones in Poland, but the answer highlighted an increasing discrepancy: the deployment of fighters of several million dollars to counter unmanned small planes is neither effective nor durable.

Russia goes from conversation to action, targeting the homeland of NATO in the midst of world war fears

“NATO remains the most crucial element of our security equation,” said Jeglinskas. “It is the dorsal spine by which our security is perceived. There is really no doubt about the political will of NATO and its capacity to defend its territory, but the war is changing-and the question is now, has NATO adapted the new way of war that infiltrates the borders of Ukraine?”

Jeglinskas warned that neither NATO nor the Baltic states have done enough. “The Polish foray noted that NATO is not entirely ready to counter these threats,” he said. “The jamming of the jets is a huge economic gap. If this kind of attacks becomes swarms, it is not durable.”

A French Rafale fighter plane is seen after landing following a joint mission with Polish F16 in an air base in Minsk Mazowiecki on September 17, 2025, as part of the Eastern Sentry Mission mission (Thibaud Moritz / AFP via Getty Images)

To respond to montage threats, NATO launched Operation Eastern Sentry last month, strengthening its presence on the European eastern flank. Jeglinskas welcomed this decision, but said that gaps remain.

“The jets are very important, but no more jets do not mean that we are safer from low-altitude drones,” he said. “The question is: do we have sensors that can detect what’s going on from the ground at one kilometer in our airspace? We do not see that. It’s like a dead space.”

The Jeglinskas called for a short and medium -range radar, as well as defenses in layers similar to the Iron Dome of Israel, capable of intercepting drones with kinetic and electronic means.

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“NATO’s response is commendable,” he said, “but that’s not enough. You need technical know-how, the right capacities and systems that are really integrated if you want to do this work.”

For the moment, NATO remains captured between signaling resolution and action. While Russia continues to test the borders of the Alliance, Jeglinskas and other officials from Eastern Europe warn that credibility is at stake. The next foray may require more than words.