Border closure in Estonia: Tallinn is closing

Next act of sabotage in Estonia – and the authorities respond with tough measures. From December 1st, the government in Tallinn will close the borders with Russia. The background for this sharp reaction is a foiled arson attack on the building of a drone manufacturer northeast of the Estonian capital Tallinn. The government blames the Russian secret service GRU for the act of sabotage.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal released a statement about this on Sunday evening. According to Michal, the Threod Systems building in Viimsi was attacked early Saturday morning with the aim of causing an explosion and setting the building on fire. “No one was injured and the company’s production and delivery were not affected,” said Michal. The security service was able to thwart the attack.

Eight suspects were arrested and five remain in custody. They live in Latvia and are in close contact with the Latvian authorities.

In connection with the new attack, Michal also mentioned a case from August this year. At that time there was an arson attack on the Milrem Robotics company; the Estonian secret services also attribute the attack to Russian backers. “Russia’s goal is to scare us and weaken our support for Ukraine,” Michal said. We will resist this decisively. Now with the closure of the borders to Russia.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Sunday evening that there would be a tough response to any attempt to threaten Estonia's security, spread fear or act hostilely against the country. “By closing the border, we are sending a clear message to the Kremlin: Russia’s hostile actions come at a price.” The Estonian government hopes that this step will significantly limit Russian influence in the border regions. According to Tsahkna's announcement on the Estonian ministry's website, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania have been informed of the move.

Tsahkna did not provide any information about how long the border closure should last. Previously, it was possible for pedestrians and goods traffic to cross the border from Estonia to Russia at certain times and conditions in three locations. Of course, under special controls and security precautions.

The border crossings include Narva, Luhamaa and Koidula. The crossing for vehicles via Narva was suspended by Russia in February 2024. Narva is one of the few border crossings between the EU and Russia that has remained open since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022.

Tsahkna is expected to attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. The war in Ukraine and the further steps towards negotiations involving the EU countries were set as topics after the two summit meetings in Dublin last week. Now a new case of hybrid warfare comes onto the agenda. The Baltic countries in particular, but also Finland, Poland and Romania, have been affected by the immediate consequences of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

Distracted drones repeatedly invade the airspace of NATO countries, and various acts of sabotage have also occurred. The foiled arson attack on the drone company in Estonia is one of the high number of incidents. Tsahkna also wants to talk about further sanctions, tougher visa restrictions and further pressure on Russia.