The Estonian Foreign Ministry has accused Russian border guards this Thursday of violating the common border at the height of the Narva River, where they have recorded an “illegal crossing” on the temporary control line that separates both countries.
“This morning, the Estonian Police and Border Guard reported illegal acts on the line of control with Russia, on the Narva River, by three Russian guards at around 10:00 a.m. (local time),” the Ministry said in a statement.
Thus, he explained that these acts were detected thanks to the “images from the security cameras” located in the area, in which you can see how the guards, aboard a hovercraft, stop at the height of a breakwater, disembark and walk on the structure.
“In order to walk above the breakwater, the Russian guards have previously crossed the line of control that separates the two territories,” says the document, which states that the three subsequently got back on the hovercraft and returned to the Russian coast.
The Estonian authorities, who have reported that several investigations have been launched, have contacted representatives of the Russian Government to “demand explanations” in this regard.
Last May, Estonia accused Russia of “unilaterally” removing a series of buoys placed in the Narva River to establish the common border in the area, a measure that it framed in an alleged “pattern of provocative behavior” by Moscow “in Europe.”
That incident occurred shortly after Moscow proposed reviewing the limits of Russian territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, a project that could come into force next year and would allow the border to be adjusted around the Russian islands located in the Gulf of Finland and off Kaliningrad.
This proposal has provoked immediate reaction from Finland and Lithuania, which have criticized Moscow’s plan. Helsinki has since maintained that “causing confusion is part of a hybrid strategy to influence third countries”, while Vilnius has spoken of “provocation” to try to “intimidate neighboring countries”.