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Russia Bans Night Movement Along 5-Kilometer Estonia Border Strip
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Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has imposed temporary restrictions on movement, hunting, firearms, and river access across border sections of the Leningrad region facing Estonia, its border directorate announced.
The measures run from September 16 to 26 and include a ban on nighttime movement within the five-kilometer strip along the state frontier.
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The Border Directorate of the FSB for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region outlined the controls, citing the need to safeguard the state frontier and protect residents' safety. The directorate stated that the measures form part of an effort to curb offenses in the border and migration spheres and to protect aquatic resources.
According to the directorate, the following are prohibited across the designated zones for the duration of the period:
presence on the shoreline and the use of small craft on the Narva River between the Bolshaya Cheremukha and Kriusha rivers;
hunting and movement with firearms within the border zone in Slantsevsky district and the five-kilometer border strip in Kingisepp district;
movement of people and vehicles after dark outside populated areas in the five-kilometer strip along the frontier in both districts.
The directorate emphasized that the bans apply only within the defined border zones and the five-kilometer strip, not across the entire district.
The border zone falls under Russia's 1993 State Border law, which restricts entry and requires passes for anyone traveling into the controlled area. The directorate noted that the zone's limits in the Leningrad region were set by an FSB order issued in June 2026.
It indicated that passes are issued free of charge through designated offices, including one in Ivangorod. That town sits directly across the Narva River from the Estonian city of Narva.
The controls remain in effect until September 26, according to the directorate. It warned that violations of the border regime carry administrative penalties, which were sharply increased under amendments that took effect in March 2026. The directorate added that foreign nationals who breach the rules may face expulsion from Russia, while equipment used in an offense, such as a boat, can be confiscated.
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The clampdown reflects a wider tightening of movement controls inside Russia. Amid rumors of a fresh wave of mobilization, more than 113,000 Russians crossed into Georgia through the Verkhny Lars checkpoint in a single week in August, with over 20,000 passing through on August 20 alone.
Moscow has meanwhile begun using its electronic military registry to bar departures, recording its first known case in early September of a reservist stopped at the border under an enlistment office's travel restriction.
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