Estonian services closed on 10 October the Saatse border crossing in the south-eastern part of the country after noticing an unarmed Russian unit. A group of about 10 men moved along a border lane on the Russian side.
Armed men wearing masks initially moved along the road, but at 1 point they lined perpendicularly to it. On a video released by Estonian media, you can see masked men armed with rifles standing on the highway.
Provocation at the border
"On the basis of uniforms, men were not border guards, which posed a clear threat to Estonia" - said border defender commander Meelis Saarepuu, quoted by Delfi service. The passage of Saatse is located on a road moving about 1 km across Russia.
According to Estonia, Russia has only reported that these are regular activities. The emergence of a group of Russian soldiers followed the fresh invasion of Estonian airspace by Russian military aircraft.
Escalating Hybrid Actions
The Washington Institute of War Studies (ISW) assessed that Russia had entered the "Faza Zero" run to prepare for a possible future NATO war with Russia. Analysts have written that the presence of Russian soldiers close Estonia is the first case of "green men" being observed in the vicinity of the NATO country as part of this phase.
Marek Kohv, an Estonian safety expert, said that the emergence of an armed, unidentified Russian branch on the road utilized by the Estonians was a planned provocation. He rated it as another Kremlin hybrid play.
Sources used: "PAP" Note: This article has been edited with the aid of Artificial Intelligence.
