Estonia, which began the construction of temporary fences along the country’s eastern border on November 20, completed it in three days. Estonia’s armed forces alongside police and border guards built a fence almost a half kilometers long. This wasreported byERR.ee.
On November 17, the Estonian government decided to call up 1,684 reserve soldiers for emergency drills to build temporary barriers along the border. According to Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet, the ministry will install 130 kilometers of a razor wire fence along the country’s eastern border to prevent a hybrid threat.
"Only through real action will we find out what the joint capacity of the Defense Forces and the Police and Border Guard Board is in order to install temporary fences at the border, and what material, technical and human resources are needed for this," Egert Belitsev, Deputy Director-General for Border Management of the Police and Border Guard Board, said quoted by BNS news agency as saying.
"By now, the migration pressure on Estonia has not increased, but if that changes, the prompt construction of temporary barriers will be a significant part in preventing mass illegal migration," he said.
It is noted that in Ida-Virumaa, where the Estonian-Russian border is mainly protected by a natural water barrier, the risk of illegal border crossing is the highestin the former channel of the Narva River.
Most of the time, the riverbed is dry, and violators can easily cross the border and hiding in the urban zone before the border guards have time to react.
"This makes the border safer for us. In other words, in places where it used to be easier to cross the border illegally, it has definitely become more difficult, and this barrier allows for a better control of these areas," said Marek Liiva, head of the Narva border crossing point.