Estonia is completely closing its border with Russia from December 1. The reason was an attempt by the GRU to blow up and burn down a drone manufacturing plant near Tallinn
All border crossings between the two countries will cease operations following a nighttime sabotage attack on defense enterprise Threod Systems. Special services have already detained eight residents of Latvia, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia informed colleagues from Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland about the decision to close the border.
The bridge across the Narva River between Estonian Narva and Russian Ivangorod. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna announced on the social network X on Sunday, November 15, the decision to completely suspend operations of all checkpoints on the Estonian-Russian border from December 1, 2026. According to him, Tallinn took this step after obtaining evidence that Russian military intelligence—the GRU—had ordered sabotage against an enterprise of the Estonian defense industry.
The head of Estonian diplomacy emphasized that closing the border crossings will limit Moscow's ability to conduct hostile activities on Estonian territory and strengthen measures to prevent sanctions evasion. In an earlier post, Margus Tsahkna noted that amid failures on the battlefield and Ukrainian resilience, the Kremlin is increasingly resorting to sabotage and intimidation to destabilize European societies and divert their attention from supporting Ukraine.
Attack at 3 AM
As the Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO) reported on the social network X, the attack attempt took place on the night of Saturday, November 14, at 03:06. The saboteurs' target was a building of Threod Systems in the Viimsi municipality near Tallinn, which produces drones and electro-optical reconnaissance systems. The attackers intended to stage an explosion and set fire to the production building. The Estonian security service urged people not to consider such offers of side jobs from Russia and warned of severe criminal consequences.
According to information from the Estonian portal Delfi, serious damage to the enterprise was avoided thanks to the company's own readiness for such threats and the quick actions of a security guard. Maarja Karin, Head of Marketing and Communications at Threod Systems, told journalists that the damage was minor: all consequences were remedied by Saturday morning, and externally it is not even noticeable now that anything happened at the facility.
Eight Detainees from Latvia
As a result of a joint operation by the Internal Security Service and the Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia, eight suspects were promptly detained. All of them are residents of Latvia, though investigators have not yet disclosed their citizenship. Latvia's State Security Service and Prosecutor's Office assisted Estonian law enforcement in the investigation and rapid determination of the incident's circumstances.
Prosecutor General of Estonia Astrid Asi explained that criminal proceedings were initiated under the article on activities directed against the security of the Republic of Estonia on behalf of a foreign intelligence or security service, including the collection of information or damage to property. The prosecutor's office has already filed a motion with the court to remand five of the detainees in custody.
Director General of the Internal Security Service Margo Palloson confirmed at a press conference that, according to information gathered by counterintelligence, the attack was organized at the behest of the Russian GRU. According to the agency's assessment, defense sector enterprises in Estonia and across Europe are under close scrutiny from Russian special services, which are attempting to disrupt production, slow down technological development, and hinder the supply of weapons and technology to Ukraine.
This is already the second attack in recent months on Estonian military-industrial complex facilities involving perpetrators from the neighboring country. In August 2026, unidentified individuals set fire to a building used by the well-known Estonian defense company Milrem Robotics. No one was injured then, and on August 19, the prosecutor's office announced that three people who were detained in Latvia and remanded in custody had participated in the arson.