Estonia will close the border with Russia after a sabotage attempt attributed to Moscow

BarcelonaThe Estonian government decided this Sunday to close the border with Russia starting December 1st, after a sabotage attempt occurred early Saturday morning against a military equipment factory in which Moscow may be involved. The Director General of the Estonian Internal Security Service, Margo Palloson, has assured that counterintelligence has confirmed that Russia was behind the attempted attack and that it was coordinated by the Russian military intelligence agency, GRU. In fact, eight people linked to the incident have been arrested.

The sabotage attempt took place at the company Threod Systems, which produces long-range reconnaissance and attack drones, and is located in the town of Viimsi, about a dozen kilometers from the capital, Tallinn, in the north of the country. The Prosecutor General, Astrid Asi, explained this Sunday in a press conference that the attackers tried unsuccessfully to break into the factory around three o'clock on Saturday morning. Specifically, they tried to break the building's windows to pour flammable liquids inside and cause a fire, which would have generated an explosion. However, the company's security personnel prevented it.

“We believe that, if the attack had been successful as the attackers had planned, it would have caused very considerable damage to the company,” assured Palloson, who highlighted that, luckily, no one was injured, the company did not suffer significant damage either, and its production capacity was not affected.

After the incident, the police arrested eight people who may be involved in the sabotage attempt. All of them reside in Latvia, but their nationality has not been specified. The prosecutor's office has requested precautionary measures for five of them.

Immediate reaction

“Closing the border will reduce the threat to Estonia’s population and serve to send a clear message that attacks against Estonia’s defense industry and defensive capabilities are unacceptable,” stated Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal in a statement this Sunday. Interior Minister Igor Taro explained that the border will remain closed starting December 1st so that Estonian citizens currently in Russia have time to return to the country if they wish to do so.

For his part, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna argued that the closure of the border will reduce Moscow’s ability to carry out “hostile activities” in the Baltic country and will strengthen efforts to enforce sanctions against the neighboring country. “I have informed my counterparts in Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania of this decision,” he added.

Currently, Estonia keeps three border crossings with Russia operational: the Narva one, which is especially busy, and those of Luhamaa and Koidula, through which private citizens and trucks with goods can pass for twelve hours a day. Finland already closed its border with Russia in 2023. Consequently, the only land borders through which one could continue to travel to Russia from the European Union were those of Estonia and Latvia, without counting the small Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Lithuania and Poland.

The sabotage attempt this weekend is the second to occur against an Estonian military company this year. In August, a fire was also reported at the offices of the company Milrem, located in the Lasnamäe district in Tallinn. On that occasion, the Estonian internal security service also attributed it to Russian special services. Likewise, other companies in the defense industry of other European countries have been the target of attacks in recent months.