Russian border guard ship violates Estonian maritime border

Recently, a Russian border guard ship of the Svetlyak series called Sochi 500 entered Estonian territorial waters without permission. This was reported by the broadcaster ERR.

The incident took place on the morning of Saturday, July 26, east of the island of Vaindloo. The ship was in Estonian territorial waters for about 35 minutes.

According to the Estonian State Border Act, a foreign warship may pass through the country's territorial waters in a peaceful passage. To do so, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be notified 48 hours in advance. The Russian border guard ship failed to do so.

The Estonian Navy monitored the situation, identified the ship and established the fact of border violation.

On Monday, July 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the Russian Embassy to hand it a note of protest.

"The violation of Estonia's maritime border by Russia is a serious and unacceptable incident. This message was also conveyed to Russia's Charge d'Affaires," said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tahkna.

This was the first violation of the Estonian maritime border by a Russian ship this year.

• On June 20, it was reported that Estonia had begun construction of trenches and bunkers along the Baltic Defense Line.
• On July 15, it was reported that Estonia was developing a maritime drone to patrol the border with Russia.