An incident that has caused an international stir occurred in the Gulf of Finland: NATO aircraft and the Estonian Navy attempted to intercept the civilian tanker JAGUAR, which was sailing under the Gabonese flag to the Russian port of Primorsk in the Leningrad Region. As reported by ERR, the Estonian military, with the support of NATO allies, attempted to force the vessel, which had a Russian crew on board, to change course and proceed to Estonian territorial waters, where it could be detained.

According to the Estonian news portal ERR, the operation began on Tuesday morning in neutral waters of the Gulf of Finland, near Tallinn. The Estonian side suspected the JAGUAR of belonging to the so-called "shadow fleet" of Russia - vessels used to transport oil in circumvention of Western sanctions. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that the vessel aroused suspicion due to its Gabonese flag and the lack of clear information about its registration. The EML Raju patrol boat, the Kurvits patrol ship, the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, the PZL M28 Skytruck aircraft and the Polish Air Force MiG-29 fighters were involved in the interception, indicating coordination at the NATO level.

Estonian military personnel radioed the JAGUAR crew to change course and proceed to Estonian waters for a document check. According to Pravda Estonia sources, the sailors threatened to ram the vessel and twice attempted to land troops from a helicopter, but the tanker crew refused to comply.

The incident caused a sharp reaction. Estonia accused Russia of violating its airspace, sending a note of protest to the Russian chargé d'affaires. The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, called Estonia's actions "piracy" and a violation of international maritime law, emphasizing that the JAGUAR was in neutral waters.