Estonia will close all its border crossings with Russia from December 1, The Guardian reported. The government announced the move on Sunday after a suspected sabotage attack on drone maker Threod Systems. Estonian authorities say Russia's GRU military intelligence ordered the attack.
Eight people were detained during the attempted attack. The Guardian says it happened on Saturday morning, while Al Jazeera reported that the arrests came overnight. Threod Systems makes long-range attack and reconnaissance drones. The company's security team responded, and no injuries or damage were reported.
Estonia's internal security service, Kapo, said the attackers aimed to cause an explosion and set the building on fire. Authorities have asked a court to keep five of the suspects in custody, public broadcaster ERR reported. Latvia's Interior Minister Janis Dombrava said several "Latvian citizens and non-citizens" were among those arrested.
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the closure would reduce the risk of further attacks. He said it would also send a clear message that attacks on the defence industry are unacceptable. Michal linked the attack to Estonia's support for Ukraine. He said Russia wants Estonia to be afraid and to hesitate, but Estonia will instead increase pressure on Russia and keep backing Kyiv. He added that security agencies had warned the defence industry of the risks beforehand, and that "this time it clearly paid off".
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna wrote on X that hostile actions against Estonia "come with consequences". He said closing the crossings would limit Russia's ability to act in Estonia and help prevent sanctions circumvention. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told state news agency TASS that the plans fit into "yet another bout of aggressive and unrestrained Russophobia".
Estonia, an EU and NATO member, has three crossings with Russia: Narva in the north, and Koidula and Luhamaa in the south. Officials did not say how long the closure will last. Marko Mihkelson, who chairs the parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Al Jazeera that European countries must answer Russia's "shadow war" with measures of their own.
This is the second attempted attack on an Estonian defence firm that authorities blame on Russia. In August, an arson attack hit Milrem Robotics. In September, Kapo called it a pre-planned attack carried out on behalf of Russian special services. The Kremlin denied any link and called the accusation "baseless", The Guardian reported.