The Kremlin issued a stern warning on Friday after Estonia signaled its readiness to host NATO’s U.S.-made F-35A fighter jets—aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons—on its territory, reported by Arab News.
Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Estonian daily Postimees that the Baltic nation would not hesitate to accommodate the jets, regardless of their potential dual-use capabilities. “If some of them, regardless of their country of origin, have a dual-use capability to carry nuclear weapons, it doesn’t affect our position on hosting F-35s in any way,” Pevkur said. “Of course, we are ready to host our allies.”
The comment comes just days after the United Kingdom announced plans to acquire at least 12 nuclear-capable F-35A jets that will participate in NATO’s airborne nuclear mission. Estonia, a NATO member and one of the alliance’s forward-deployed air policing hubs, shares a direct border with Russia—making its stance especially provocative in Moscow’s eyes.
Responding to Pevkur’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the move a direct threat to Russian national security. “Of course it would be an immediate danger,” Peskov told Russian media outlet Life News. He dismissed the Estonian minister’s comments as part of a wider pattern of what he described as “absurd thoughts” emerging from politicians in the Baltic region.
Peskov further lamented the state of Russia’s relations with the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—noting they are already at historic lows. “We have practically no relations with the Baltic republics because it is very difficult to make them worse,” he said.
The sharp rhetoric underscores growing tension between Russia and NATO’s eastern flank, particularly as Baltic nations ramp up defense postures amid ongoing concerns over Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
The situation adds another layer to an already fraught NATO-Russia dynamic in the post-Ukraine invasion era.
