Estonia to close all border crossings with Russia after attack on drone maker

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Estonia will close all its border crossings with Russia from December 1st after a suspected sabotage attack on a drone maker in the Baltic state over the weekend, which…

Estonia will close all its border crossings with Russia from December 1st after a suspected sabotage attack on a drone maker in the Baltic state over the weekend, which authorities said was ordered by Russia’s GRU military intelligence service.

On Saturday morning, eight people were detained during an attempted attack on Threod Systems, a defence company that manufactures long-range attack and reconnaissance drones. No injuries or damage were reported after the company’s security team responded to the incident.

Estonia’s internal security service, Kapo, said on Sunday the attack was carried out “with the aim of causing an explosion and setting the building on fire”. Authorities have requested a court order for five of those detained to remain in custody, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR reported.

He linked the attacks with Estonia’s continuing support for Ukraine. “Russia’s aim is to make us afraid, make us hesitate and weaken our support for Ukraine. Estonia’s response is the opposite. We will strengthen our security, work even more closely with businesses and our allies, increase pressure on Russia and continue supporting Ukraine,” Michal said.

The Estonian foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, echoed the warning, saying: “Russia must understand that hostile actions against Estonia come with consequences. Attempts to intimidate, destabilise, or undermine our security will not go unanswered.”

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Estonia operates three border crossings with Russia – Narva in the north, and Koidula and Luhamaa in the south. The authorities did not specify how long the closure would be.

It is the second attempted attack on an Estonian defence company that authorities have attributed to Russia, after an arson attack at Milrem Robotics in August.

In September, Kapo said it was confident that incident was “a deliberate and pre-planned attack carried out on behalf of Russian special services”.

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