A Russian border patrol ship illegally entered Estonia’s territorial waters and remained there for 35 minutes, according to the Estonian Defense Forces General Staff, as reported by ERR.
The incident occurred on July 26, east of the Estonian island of Vaindloo. Estonia’s navy monitored the situation, identified the vessel, and confirmed the border violation.
Under Estonia’s State Border Act, foreign military vessels may pass through the country’s territorial waters only under the right of innocent passage, and only if the Estonian Foreign Ministry is notified 48 hours in advance. Russia failed to provide any such notice.
As a result, on July 28, Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Russia’s chargé d'affaires and issued a formal protest, delivering an official diplomatic note over the violation.
“Russia’s breach of Estonia’s maritime border is a serious and unacceptable incident. This message was also clearly conveyed to the Russian chargé d’affaires,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Previously, Russia has moved its electronic warfare systems closer to Estonia’s border, Estonian officials said in a July 24 report by Bloomberg.
At a press conference, Estonia’s Interior Minister Igor Taro confirmed that Russian forces had deployed additional signal-jamming equipment near Kingisepp, a town roughly 20 kilometers from the Estonian border.
