The barriers are located at the Narva crossing in the north and Koidula and Luhamaa crossings in the south. The work started last month and cost €3.1 millon in total.

Photographs and video taken by ERR at Luhamaa on Monday (August 11) show how the features work.

The new security measures were agreed upon after Russia allowed approximately 30 people to exit the country and try and enter the EU without the proper documents in Narva in December 2023.

Similar events took place on a larger scale at the Finnish-Russian border at the same time. Officials said they were connected to the migration crisis on Belarus' borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland which is backed by Minsk and Moscow.

"We can never completely rule out a migration-front situation at our borders. In such cases, physical infrastructure definitely helps us respond quickly to migration attacks and prevent illegal border crossings," Peter Maran, head of the PPA's Southeast border checkpoint.

Additionally, over the years, there have been several incidents where people have tried to cross the border illegally, bypassing the PPA.

Recently at Luhamaa, a drunk Latvian scooter driver attempted to speed through the new border checkpoint to enter Russia without stopping.

"It was more like a scene from an action comedy. The vehicle in question was a Muravei three-wheeled moped, and the person who wanted to go to Russia was heavily intoxicated," Maran told Monday's "Aktuaalne kaamera."

"He saw that the gates and barriers were closing, so he turned around, apparently looking for a hole somewhere in the fence to slip through, and he really did not want to be caught," he added. The incident can be watched in the video below.

Maran said it takes around three seconds to close a checkpoint with the new folding gates and barriers.

"The most important thing here is that information moves very quickly, and that the officer keeps a cool head and presses the button at the right moment. If we had not had these new systems, this person would likely have managed to leave for Russia," he added.

Additionally, all possible scenarios have been considered, the official said.

"Including situations in which our officer might end up on the Russian Federation's side of the gates. We also have a way to open the gates from here in such cases, so that our own personnel would not be left, so to speak, in hostile territory," the checkpoint chief confirmed.

Gates were also installed on the bridge between Estonia and Russia last month.

Gallery: The new security measures at Luhamaa border crossing (August 11)

Gallery: Gates being installed at the Narva border crossing (August 1)

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