ALERT Russian Il-96 with FM Lavrov on-board violated Estonian airspace

On Wednesday evening, an Ilyushin Il-96 flew over Vaindloo, a small island belonging to Estonia without permission, reported the Defense Forces.

The transponder was turned off at the border and the aircraft didn’t follow its flight plan. There was no radio contact with the air traffic control in Estonia.

The plane was carrying Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on his way from Moscow to Helsinki.

This was the first time this year that the Estonian airspace was violated by a plane from Russian Federation. Last year, there were seven similar cases.

The Russian Federation embassy was notified about the incident.