Estonia temporarily banned flights near the Russian border to strengthen its eastern border

Estonia will close from 19 to 26 November the possibility of flights of both manned and unmanned aerial vehicles on the eastern and southeastern borders.

The establishment of a temporary restriction “is necessary in connection with the activities of the Police and Border Guard Board and the Defense Forces to strengthen the temporary control line between Estonia and Russia”, reported on Friday the Estonian transport department.

On November 17, the Estonian government announced a surprise exercise for the Defense Forces reservists in connection with the events on the border of Belarus and the EU and called for about 1.7 thousand people. Their main task will be to erect 40 km of temporary barriers on the border with Russia. Particular attention is paid to the areas where the border is easiest to cross illegally.

On November 19, the 17th Combat Engineer Battalion, formed on alert, began its advance towards the border with Russia to set up barbed wire fences.

According to the Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laaneta, the strengthening of the border is necessary to repel possible “hybrid” attacks on the EU and NATO countries. At the same time, he noted that now there are no signs of any threat on the Estonian-Russian borders. However, you need to be prepared for the rapid development of the situation, he added. The minister cited as an example the aggravation of the situation on the Polish-Belarusian and Lithuanian-Belarusian borders, transfers RIA Novosti.

At present, about 25 km of the border have been arranged on the Estonian side, work is underway on the next section, 39.5 km long. Another 40 km of temporary barriers to be erected during the gathering will make it possible to fortify a total of 100 km of the border.

According to the previously approved plan, the construction of barriers on the border with Russia should be completed by 2026. informs Interfax.

The total length of the Estonian-Russian border line is 338 km, of which 76 km pass along the Narva River and 127 km along Lake Peipsi. The land border, 135 km long, runs through difficult terrain and in forested areas.

The onshore section is supposed to be provided with high-tech equipment and an electronic security system. Also, at the border, they plan to use drones and sensors to identify intruders. Finally, a 2.5 m high fence with a length of about 90 km will also be built there.

At the moment, the most tense situation is on the Polish-Belarusian border. Last week, several thousand migrants from the Middle East, whose movements are controlled by the Belarusian security forces, approached the Polish border crossing “Bruzgi” from the Belarusian side. Migrants made attempts break through to the territory of the EU, while they threw in the Polish border guards and policemen stones and sticks. The security forces responded with stun grenades, tear gas and water cannons. In clashes with migrants suffered at least nine police officers.

The EU authorities call this migration crisis “hybrid aggression” by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. They also suggest that Russia is also involved in creating the crisis. Thus, according to the President of Lithuania, illegal migrants arrive to Belarus via Moscow. And political scientist Maria Snegovaya recalledthat the Kremlin six years ago successfully tested the tactics of transferring migrants to the borders of Finland and Norway. The situation then returned to normal at the same time as Finland’s refusal to continue the freezing of bilateral relations with the Russian Federation, which began after the annexation of Crimea.