At the beginning of September, the Tallinn Administrative Court upheld a complaint filed by 81 private individuals, two companies and two environmental groups, annulling the government's decisions to expand the Nursipalu Training Area.

"This ruling is the first major public sign that democracy actually works in Estonia," said Tiiu Ritari, one of the 81 complainants.

According to Ritari, the court case cost more than €68,000, which was covered by donations. The Ministry of Defense has already announced it will appeal the decision.

"If we appeal, we must receive a circuit court ruling. Once that decision is handed down, we'll see whether it favors the Estonian state or the complainants," said Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform).

"So this means everything continues. Nothing has ended," Ritari added.

Until a final ruling is in place, development at Nursipalu will continue as planned, including negotiations with landowners. As of July 1, the state had acquired 119 land plots within the training area for nearly €26.8 million. Among them is the Kopli property, where Vello Lätte has been working his grandfather's farm.

Lätte's land was partly affected at first, but he insisted that if the forest was taken, the farm should go too — especially since none of his three children wanted to live so close to the training grounds. He reached an agreement with the state in June. Most developed property owners have followed this path, but some refuse to leave their homes. Although Lätte has already signed, he will not move out until next fall.

"Once everything is formalized, the Defense Forces (EDF) asks how long you want to stay. You set your deadline and until then you can liquidate your movable property," Lätte said.

Those who haven't sold say their land is nearly surrounded by state-owned plots.

"It's like a lonely island. This is my home. There was nowhere else to go and still isn't, so I haven't rushed into selling. It's been a matter of reluctant acceptance," said landowner Uno Allas.

The court ruling has divided locals.

"For Minister Pevkur, this decision means nothing. He already said it should be appealed and that the law must be changed to fit the situation," said Lätte.

"It's unclear whether the court just wanted to block national defense plans or what good this ruling really does. How much can it still help locals? For most, that train has already left," Allas added.

Meanwhile, development is continuing: 20 kilometers of roads have been built and 105 hectares of forest cleared. Contracts have also been signed to mark the boundaries of the training area. Still, progress has slowed. The State Defense Investment Center (RKIK) is tied up in five separate lawsuits with NGO Nursipalu.

"With road construction, the contractor told us just this week they can't continue because of the ongoing court cases. They've significantly slowed their pace. This pause in construction ultimately delays the use of the training area," said Elari Kalmaru, RKIK's training area portfolio manager.

The situation has also put pressure on Rõuge Municipality, which must approve an increasing number of requests for live-fire exercises while also handling residents' frustrations. The municipality has proposed creating a county-level commission to deal with training ground issues.

"To give an example, the situation is so tense that this summer, when there was a thunderstorm, a resident called me directly to complain that we had once again approved something. Since the old Nursipalu training area was historically in Rõuge, people feel it's our responsibility. But in reality, this affects the whole county and it makes sense for that responsibility to be shared," said Rõuge Mayor Britt Vahter.

The next major event at Nursipalu will take place on October 1–2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., when test firing will be carried out with HIMARS and Caesar MLRS and self-propelled howitzer systems, the most powerful weapons in the arsenal.

"As part of the exercise, we'll measure actual noise levels at four different locations. Once results are in, we'll compare them with earlier modeling and present the findings to the public," Kalmaru said.

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