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Russian Border Guards Cross Into Estonia and Flee Before Authorities Can Intervene
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On Wednesday morning, three men dressed in uniform arrived at the Vasknarva pier on the Narva River. The men left before Estonian authorities could question them, as reported by the Estonian Minister of the Interior, Igor Taro, speaking to Aktuaalses kaamera, according to ERR on December 17.
By 10 am Wednesday, border guards from the Eastern Prefecture were able to monitor the movement of Russian border guards using surveillance cameras. These guards were aboard a hovercraft traveling along the Narva River near the Vasknarva pier.
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The hovercraft stopped near the pier, and three border guards exited, walking along the pier. During this time, the Russian guards crossed the control line from Russia into Estonia and returned to the Russian side. Afterward, they went back to their hovercraft and crossed over to Russia.
Eerik Purgel, head of the Border Guard Bureau of the Eastern Prefecture, stated that several Estonian border patrols were sent to respond to the incident at the border.
“The incident was captured through surveillance equipment, and we conducted an initial inspection at the pier. We made official contact with the Russian Border Guard to get an explanation,” Purgel said.
According to ERR, meeting with border guard representatives is scheduled for Thursday morning, during which Estonia expects clarification from Russia regarding the border violation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon the charge d'affaires from the Russian embassy.
Minister Taro remarked on the incident, saying that “the motives are unclear to us, and we don’t know why they did it.”
“There was no immediate threat to security from this incident, although the PPA did increase its presence and patrols,” Taro explained.
He further noted that the pier in question lies partly within Estonian territory and partly within Russian territory.
“They moved onto our land. One of our concerns with the Russian border guards is that the quality of their personnel has become increasingly unstable in recent years. For obvious reasons, they no longer have the appropriate staff. People from other regions are being sent. This is a recurring issue,” Taro continued, as reported by ERR.
In response to why the border violators weren’t detained, Taro said that they managed to return to Russian territory before authorities could intervene.
“We can't go and arrest them deep within Russia,” he explained.
Earlier, Estonia temporarily shut down a part of its border with Russia following reports of armed individuals seen near the Saatse Boot area, a small Russian land protrusion bordered by Estonian territory.
According to Estonia’s Police and Border Guard Board, patrols observed “more activity than usual” on the Russian side of the border. Officials noted that groups of armed men were seen walking along the border and, at one point, formed a line across the road.
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