On Thursday, representatives of the Estonian border guard met with their Russian counterparts to ask for explanations regarding Wednesday's illegal border crossing near the Vasknarva breakwater in Ida-Viru County.

Although Vasknarva is Estonian territory and the movements of Russian border guards along the temporary control line were recorded by video surveillance equipment, Russia did not acknowledge the illegal border crossing took place.

Veiko Kommusaar, deputy director general of the PPA's border guard affairs, said the nature of the meeting was similar to the meeting that took place after the Russian border guard removed more than a dozen floating demarcation buoys from the Narva River in May 2024.

"The Russian side was not prepared to present any additional information or arguments on their part, nor did they acknowledge crossing the temporary control line. As the deputy border representative who participated in the meeting repeatedly stated that he did not have the authority or expertise to answer important questions, we proposed taking the issues to a higher level," Kommusaar said.

According to Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200), the issue is difficult to resolve.

"I don't see any border agreement between Estonia and Russia actually being concluded and ratified today, and these threats remain. Russia will certainly take advantage of such opportunities. Our job is simply to be very clear about what is our territory and what is Russian territory, to keep these circumstances under control, and not to succumb to provocations," Tsahkna said.

The PPA is monitoring the situation at the Vasknarva pier and on the Narva River. The overall situation on the river border is considered normal.

The meeting took place on the Russian side of the river.

Around 10 a.m. on Wednesday (December 17), Estonian border guards using surveillance equipment detected several Russian border guards on a hovercraft on the Narva River near the Vasknarva breakwater in Ida-Viru County.

The hovercraft stopped at the stone breakwater, which is situated in both Russian and Estonian territory at the entrance to Lake Peipus. Three border guards disembarked and then walked along the structure.

In doing so, the Russian border guards crossed the border from Russia into Estonia and then returned to the Russian side of the breakwater, a video released by the Estonian Police and Border Guard (PPA) shows. After that, the border guards returned to their hovercraft and went back to the Russian side of the river.

Eerik Purgel, head of the PPA's Eastern Prefecture, said several Estonian border patrol units responded.

"The incident has been recorded by surveillance equipment, and an initial inspection was also carried out on the breakwater. An official contact has been established with the border representative of the Russian Federation to obtain explanations," he said.

The Estonian border guard has also increased the number of patrols to respond to any additional incidents.

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