Today, 17 December, shortly before 10 a.m., border guards of the Estonian Eastern Prefecture detected via a surveillance camera the movement of Russian border guards on a hovercraft on the Narva River at the Vasknarva breakwater. The hovercraft stopped at the breakwater and three border guards disembarked, proceeding on foot along the breakwater. In the course of this, the border guards of the Russian Federation crossed the control line from Russia towards Estonia. After this, the border guards returned to their hovercraft and travelled back towards the Russian shore.
The Head of the Border Guard Bureau of the Eastern Prefecture, Eerik Purgel, stated that several Estonian border guard patrols responded to the border incident.
“The incident has been recorded by surveillance equipment, and an initial inspection was also carried out on the breakwater. An official contact has been established with the border representative of the Russian Federation to obtain explanations,” he said.
The Eastern Prefecture has also increased the deployment of patrols in order to be prepared to respond to any additional incidents.
A meeting of the border representatives of Estonia and Russian Federation is scheduled for Thursday morning, at which Estonia expects an explanation from the Russian Federation regarding the border crossing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Russian Embassy.
