From the moment the Russian pilots entered Estonian airspace, they were pursued by Nato’s most advanced fighter jets.

NATO allies are divided over whether the alliance should make it a policy to shoot down Russian jets that violate NATO’s airspace, with some countries including the US, Poland, and Baltic nations signaling that future violations should be met with force,

Sergey Lavrov said in his address, “NATO and the EU have basically declared war on my country and are partaking of it directly.”

Two NATO officials, who asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive operational matters, told NBC News U.S. fighter jets were taking off for assignments somewhere in Eastern Europe.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he believes NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft when they violate NATO airspace.

UNITED NATIONS -- UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.

NATO allies are struggling to coordinate a response to Russian airspace violations, with partners in the defense alliance openly contradicting each other.

NATO on Tuesday condemned Russia for violating Estonian airspace last week and said it would use "all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves" as it faced "a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour" by Moscow.

Germany said Thursday it would step up its defences -- from drone warfare to outer space -- at a time of growing tensions between Russia and NATO while the Ukraine war grinds on.Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Thursday that Germany would spend 35 billion euros ($41 billion) on outer space defence by 2030,