Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has accused Russian reconnaissance aircraft of deliberately provoking a German navy frigate operating in the Baltic Sea, while stressing that Berlin will not be drawn into escalation.
Addressing the Bundestag on September 24, 2025, in a debate on the 2026 defense budget, Pistorius said:
“The incursion of Russian drones and warplanes deep into Polish and Estonian airspace, as well as the overflight of a German frigate in the Baltic Sea in recent days, make it clear that Russia is literally testing the boundaries with increasing frequency and intensity,” Pistorius told lawmakers.
According to reporting by Spiegel, Russian reconnaissance aircraft overflew the German frigate Hamburg on two occasions, on September 19 and 20. Bundeswehr sources say the jets flew at altitudes below 100 meters and ignored repeated radio calls. The Hamburg was operating between Estonia and Finland as part of NATO’s Neptune Strike exercise, though the precise locations of the overflights remain uncertain.
While the German Defense Ministry has not specified the aircraft type, Russia has previously deployed Su-24MR reconnaissance jets in the Baltic region. One such aircraft violated Polish airspace over Gdańsk Bay in February 2025, an incident that was condemned by Warsaw and NATO.
Military officials characterized the actions not as imminently dangerous, but as “unfriendly and provocative.” Also on September 19, 2925, Russian jets reportedly flew over a Polish oil platform in the Baltic Sea.
Pistorius framed these maneuvers as part of a deliberate Russian strategy under President Vladimir Putin to provoke NATO, identify vulnerabilities, and test the alliance’s resolve.
“Putin wants to provoke us, Putin wants to provoke the NATO member states, and he wants to identify, expose, and exploit perceived weaknesses in the NATO alliance,” Pistorius said, adding that NATO has responded “clearly and decisively,” but with the “necessary prudence […] which is particularly important these days.”
“We are not falling for Putin’s provocations; we are not falling into this trap of escalation,” Pistorius concluded.
Broader Baltic and airspace tensions
The incidents involving the Hamburg fit into a broader pattern of Russian provocations across NATO’s eastern flank. In recent months, Russian aircraft and drones have repeatedly violated the airspace of allies, including Estonia, Poland, Romania, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania, prompting intercepts and NATO consultations.
Russia has also escalated pressure at sea. In December 2024, a German navy helicopter was targeted by flares from a Russian warship in the Baltic — a reminder that the maritime domain is equally exposed to these confrontations.
Additionally, GPS jamming incidents near Kaliningrad — including interference affecting Spain’s defense minister’s A330 MRTT, as well as earlier cases involving European leaders — underscore the contested electronic warfare environment in which Hamburg and other NATO vessels must operate.
