Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 27, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Estonia's readiness to host NATO's nuclear-capable jets is seen as a threat by Russia, highlighting tensions in Baltic airspace defense.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Friday that Estonia's stated readiness to host NATO allies' U.S.-made F-35A stealth jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, posed a direct threat to Moscow.
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Postimees news outlet on Thursday that Estonia - which borders Russia and is a rotating base for NATO jets tasked with protecting Baltic airspace - was ready to host nuclear-capable jets if necessary.
"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," the outlet cited him as saying.
"Of course we are ready to host our allies."
Pevkur was speaking after Britain, a NATO member, announced it would buy at least 12 F-35A jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads and that they would join NATO's airborne nuclear mission.
Asked about Pevkur's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a move would be an obvious threat to Russia.
"Of course it would be an immediate danger," Peskov told a journalist from Russia's Life news outlet. He said the statement was one of many "absurd thoughts" voiced by politicians in the Baltic region, which comprises Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
"We have practically no relations with the Baltic republics because it is very difficult to make them worse," he said.
(Reporting by ReutersWriting by Andrew OsbornEditing by Mark Trevelyan)
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stated that hosting NATO allies' F-35A jets, which can carry nuclear weapons, does not change Estonia's position on the matter and that they are ready to host their allies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Estonia's readiness to host NATO jets as an obvious threat to Russia, calling it an immediate danger and labeling the comments as absurd.
Britain announced it would purchase at least 12 F-35A jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which will join NATO's airborne nuclear mission.
Dmitry Peskov mentioned that Russia has practically no relations with the Baltic republics, emphasizing that it is difficult to worsen the already strained ties.
The F-35A jets are significant because they are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, which raises security concerns for Russia, especially in the context of NATO's military presence in the Baltic region.
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