On December 17, 2025, three Russian border guards crossed into Estonian territory on the Vasknarva breakwater at the meeting point of the Narva River and Lake Peipus.

In this area, a long-standing agreement is in place that requires Russian vessels to request access to pass through Estonian territory to reach Lake Peipus from the Narva River.

The incident was recorded by Estonian surveillance equipment and the PPA conducted an initial inspection at the scene following the incident. The agency then held a meeting with a Russian border guard representative to get an explanation, which was not forthcoming.

The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a note of protest to the top official at the Russian Embassy in Tallinn at the time.

Pattern of behavior

On Friday (January 30), Estonian and Russian border representatives discussed the incident at a meeting on Russian territory. 

Andris Viltsin, Estonia's border representative at the meeting, said: "Russia continues to deny the illegal border crossing documented by Estonia." 

"This kind of behavior is part of a pattern in recent years, where there is no interest in finding a substantive resolution. Meetings at the level of PPA border representatives on this matter will not continue. I stressed the need to avoid illegal activity and new incidents at the border on the Russian side in the future," he said in a statement.

Viltsin said the PPA has strengthened border surveillance measures and its readiness to respond to provocations in recent years.

Estonia will continue to monitor the border in the Vasknarva section and elsewhere, the PPA said in the statement.

After the incident, the PPA released a video of the Russian border guards illegally crossing the border. You can watch the footage below.

Interior minister: Motives unclear, inconsistent personnel

On December 17, Minister of the Interior Igor Taro said Estonia did not understand the motives behind the incident or why it occurred.

Referencing the agreement, he said: "They have always informed us in advance. /.../ This time they did not inform us, and such an incident has taken place."

In recent years, Estonia has raised questions about the personnel employed by the Russian authorities.

"One concern we have with the Russian border guard is that the quality of their personnel has become extremely inconsistent in recent years – for understandable reasons [the war in Ukraine] – they no longer have regular staff. People are being brought in from other regions. This has been a recurring problem," Taro said.

When asked why the border guards were not detained, Taro said they had already returned to Russian territory before that could happen. "We are not in a position to go into the depths of Russia to apprehend them," he said.

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