Lyudmila Zhernovskaya17:51, 05/23/24

The country demands an explanation.

Tonight, Russian border guards removed floating buoys used to mark shipping routes from the Narva River in Estonian waters.

This was reported by the Estonian public broadcasting company ERR . As the border service explained, Estonia and Russia installed such buoys every spring. In 2022, after the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine, they decided to install them for the summer season so that fishermen and boaters would not accidentally wander into Russian waters.

This year, Russia said it would not agree to the location of about half of the 250 floating signs. In May, Estonia, guided by the state border law, installed the first 50 buoys in its waters.

At about 03:00, border guards discovered that their Russian colleagues had begun to remove the floating signs. A total of 24 signs were removed, some of which were controversial. Now the Police and Border Guard Department is waiting for an explanation from Russia and the return of the buoys.

“We are waiting for evidence from Russia that the location of the previously agreed shipping route has changed. If they are not provided, we will continue to install buoys,” the department said.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said the government was approaching the incident in a “sober and balanced manner.” “And, if necessary, also in contact with our allies. We see a bigger picture where Russia is trying to sow alarm through its actions,” she added.

(c)UNIAN 2024