Three Russian FSB border guards ‘illegally crossed into NATO territory in Estonia and stayed for around 20 minutes’ in a possible provocation just weeks after Russian war planes entered Estonian airspace.
The officers allegedly crossed the control line between Russian and Estonian territory on a breakwater in the Narva River.
This may be the latest Russian move to test the response of Western defences.
The trio arrived on a security service hovercraft and proceeded on foot along the river barrier.
They later returned to their craft and crossed back to Russian territory.
Grainy footage shows the ghostly figures of the Russian intruders near the village of Vasknarva, said the foreign ministry in Tallinn.
Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro said: ‘The illegal border crossing has been documented, and we have it on video from the surveillance camera that detected the crossing.’
Checks were carried out to ensure that Russians had not planted anything suspicious in Estonia.
‘Naturally, our units went to investigate, but the illegal border crossers were no longer there,’ he said.
‘They had left Estonian territory and returned to their own.Traces were found, and the area was checked to ensure nothing was left behind.’
The motives of the Russian border guards – who are part of the giant Federal Security Service [FSB] once headed by Putin – were unclear, he said.
‘There was no immediate security threat, but the [Estonian] police and border guards have significantly increased their presence and patrols.’
Estonia is to summon the Russian chargé d’affaires in Tallinn.
A meeting between representatives of the border guard authorities of the two states was scheduled in response to the incident.
The intrusion was on Wednesday morning – and Taro said low-grade FSB officers may have been to blame.
‘What we have observed in recent years is that the quality of border guard personnel on the Russian side varies greatly.
‘Obviously, the aggression against Ukraine affects their structures, as they have likely redirected a number of more competent people elsewhere, probably to the front lines or that region.’
It may be that the guards drafted in ‘have no understanding of where they are, what they are doing here, or the nuances of the terrain’.
‘The incident was recorded by surveillance equipment, and we conducted an initial inspection on the pier,’ said Estonian prefecture border guard chief Eerik Purgel.
‘Official contact has been established with the Russian border representation to obtain an explanation.’
Taro said: ‘This is an area where Russian vessels must pass through Estonian territory to access Lake Peipus from the Narva River.
‘There is a long-standing agreement for this….They have always notified us of this….
‘This time they did not notify us, and such an incident occurred.’
In September, Estonian authorities and NATO officials reported that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland and remained there for about 12 minutes.
Estonia condemned the action as a ‘brazen’ violation, lodged a diplomatic protest and invoked NATO consultations under Article 4 of the alliance treaty.
Moscow denied that its aircraft violated Estonian sovereign airspace, claiming the flight was routine and remained in international airspace.
That same month, Russian drones briefly breached Polish airspace, prompting NATO fighters to scramble, raising alliance concerns about aerial incursions.
