Russian coast guards moved buoys placed on the Narva River on the border with Estonia during the night of May 22-23.
Russia had already disputed the location of about half of the buoys on these waters.
This “border incident” is seen as an attempt to provoke fear in Estonia.
Follow the full coverage
More than two years of war in Ukraine
Since yesterday, a diplomatic incident between Russia and Estonia has been at the heart of heated debates. This comes after the Estonian coast guard declared on May 24 that their Russian counterparts had removed buoys placed on the Narva River during the night of May 22 to 23. This strategic area directly connects Lake Peipus to the Gulf of Finland.
A “border incident” in an extremely tense context
The boundary between the two countries is marked by buoys, around fifty of which were anchored on May 13. These are used to prevent boats from straying into foreign waters, but they were removed during the previous night. Twenty-five floating markers were affected by the maneuver, according to a press release from the Police and Border Guard Council (PPA).
“This year, Russia said it contested the location of about half of the planned buoys”say the Estonian coast guard. “At three in the morning we saw the Russian coast guard moving buoys”, they add. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas reacted by referring to a “border incident”, while Lithuania and other countries in the region have maintained tense relations with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia increases border incidents to spark fear and anxiety
Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia
According to Ms. Kallas, Estonia contacted Russia to obtain an explanation for its actions. “This is a border incident, the precise circumstances of which we are in the process of clarifying“, the minister declared to the press. “Russia increases incidents at borders to arouse fear and anxiety, in order to sow insecurity in our societies. We see a general trend in this area“, she added.
-
Read also
VIDEO – US says Russia likely launched ‘space weapon’
According to Tallinn (capital of Estonia), it is only since the start of the war in Ukraine, in February 2022, that Moscow has contested the location of the floating beacons. This new incident on the waters of the Narva River also affects the European Union, the limit between Estonia and Russia also being a border of the Schengen area.
