Work started on the first stage last year when ditches were dug on state land next to the border infrastructure.

Now the Estonian Defense Forces' (EDF) 2nd Infantry Brigade is working on the approximately 20-kilometer defensive structure along the southeastern border. 

The evening news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" visited the village of Meremäe this week, where new defensive structures are being built. The Estonian border can be seen from the village.

Capt. Hardo Toots, staff engineer officer of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, said "Ukraine's wartime experience also shows — or the Ukrainians themselves have said — that in places where this system has been built, the enemy has not broken through."

There has been little opposition in Setomaa to using private land, as there has been in other areas. Residents understand that there is currently no other option than to fortify their home region by every possible means.

Margus Timmo, a board member of the NGO Setomaa Liit, said: "Today we already have agreements in place for six to seven kilometers. These are farmers' private lands, and the trenches run along the edges of fields or forests. There will be three lines here, and there will definitely be trenches here. We hope that this will also be useful in truly discouraging people from having any idea of ​​coming here."

The local council wants to exempt those who give up their land for national defense from land tax.

"We will make a proposal that those farmers and landowners who have leased their land for the Baltic — or what I call the Seto Line — should be exempted from land tax for the portion that has been leased for national defense needs," said Aare Hõrn, a member of the municipal council of Setomaa Parish.

If necessary, concrete dragon's teeth can also be quickly installed next to the anti-tank trenches.

"At the moment, we are storing those dragon's teeth in pre-positioning areas, which the State Defense Investment Center has reached agreements with companies and local landowners. In the future, if the need arises, we will place them as an addition to the anti-tank trenches being built," Toots said.

Plans to build the Baltic Defense Line were first announced in January 2024. Estonia said at the time it would build around 600 bunkers along the eastern border in the coming years, among other elements.

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are also fortifying their eastern borders with Russia and Belarus.

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