The Russians stole 24 buoys from NATO countries on the river
23.05.2024 - 16:23
Russian border guards removed more than 20 Estonian fairway buoys on the Narva River.
On the night of May 23, Russian border guards removed 24 buoys installed in Estonian waters to mark the fairway, reports ERR.
Eerik Purgel, the head of the border guard bureau of the Ida Prefecture, explained that Estonia and Russia set buoys in the Narva River every spring to mark the fairway. The course of the river changes over time, because the fairway markings are revised every spring.
“Before the start of the war in Ukraine, the installation of these buoys took place mainly by mutual agreement, but since 2023, Russia does not agree with Estonian positions on the placement of buoys. We decided to put up the buoys for the summer season under the 2022 agreement, because they are needed to avoid navigational errors, so that our fishermen and vacationers do not mistakenly enter Russian waters,” Purgel said.
This year, Russia said it disagreed with the placement of about half of the 250 buoys. Estonia installed the buoys in accordance with the treaty on the state border and the agreement on the placement of buoys between the border services in 2022.
The first 50 buoys were installed on May 13. On the night of Thursday, the Estonian border guards discovered that the Russian border guards had started removing these buoys and removed 24 of them during the night, some of which belonged to the disputed buoys.
“The Department of Police and Border Guard contacted the Russian Border Guard Service and requested an explanation regarding the removal of the buoys and their return. The department is waiting for evidence from Russia that the previously agreed fairway has changed, and if they are not presented, then we will continue to install the buoys,” Purgel added.
Prime Minister Kaya Callas told a government press conference that it was a border incident, the exact circumstances of which are now being determined.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna added that this case should be treated very calmly, because Russia behaves provocatively, and judging by its behavior in recent years, the current actions fit into this scheme.
