©Pavel Egorov via Unsplash
Last week, Russia conducted its first unannounced live-fire exercise on Lake Peipus, near the border with Estonia. According to Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, this took place without prior notification to the Estonian authorities, and the sound of the gunfire could be heard all the way to the other side of the border.
The exercise took place on July 9, one day after the NATO summit in Ankara, and immediately caused a stir in Tallinn. Pevkur called the action “certainly not customary” and said that Russia had never before conducted live-fire exercises on the lake. The Estonian Border Guard was also not informed, although the services did monitor the situation closely. According to Pevkur, Russian troops were presumably training to neutralize maritime drones. Ukraine regularly deploys these unmanned vessels against the Russian fleet, making an exercise involving moving targets on the water a logical step. “They were firing at moving targets in the water,” the minister said. He declined to comment on the exact distance from the border, though he emphasized that Estonia knows exactly which Russian unit organized the exercise.
In addition to the live-fire exercise, Russia is also said to have launched a reconnaissance balloon over the Narva River, which forms the border. This is part of a series of incidents that have created the impression in Estonia that Moscow is testing the limits of what is permissible. Nevertheless, the government is trying to keep a cool head. Interior Minister Igor Taro called the Russian action provocative, but at the same time said there is “no cause for concern” among the public. It is noteworthy, however, that the Estonian authorities continued to closely monitor Russian activity. According to the border service, such maneuvers in the immediate vicinity of the border are unusual, although Russian exercises on the other bank have been audible on previous occasions. This time, however, it involves the first live-fire exercise in the middle of Lake Peipus, which has reignited tensions in the region.
©Pavel Egorov via Unsplash - illustrative image of Russian soldiers