Estonians pondering mysteries? following military drills, a congestion formed at the boundary with Russia.
Does a loong line stretch at the Estonia-Russia border? You betcha! The reason? A spot of military fun and games near Narva. You see, Estonia's troops held joint evacuation exercises at the local railway station. Their mission? Get civilians scramming to safety, should the city be under siege.
Now, what happens during military drills impacts all of us, and this little event was no exception. As Ivar Mai, evacuation adviser at the Rescue Department, puts it, they were rehearsing for a big evacuation. And you can bet him a jug of matroska soup that the Estonian government's hopping on board too, taking things pretty seriously.
There's this narrative in the exercise where the bridge between Estonia and Russia gets all blown to smithereens, while some soldiers are busy protecting the land, others gotta clear off the city. As a consequence, the Narva-1 checkpoint closed up shop for three days.
But let's get to the meat of the matter - how'd the Estonian military troops do during the games? Well, we can't be sure yet, but we do know that folks were queuing up post-exercise, eager to cross the border. Are the Estonians picking up on some vibes? You decide.
The border got back to normal on Saturday, and sure enough, crowds still huddled near Narva, longing to cross the Estonia-Russia frontier. So there you have it, a little military fun, and a side of mild border chaos.
READ MORE:
- Despite the exercises in Narva, there's been no clear surge in border crossings from Russia to Estonia[1-5]. However, the temporary closing of the Narva-1 checkpoint on April 30 caused some congestion[3].
- The region near Narva is also in the crosshairs of larger military maneuvers, specifically the NATO exercise Siil 2025 from May 5 to 23[1][4].
- Plans to establish a military base in Narva may affect the strategic environment, but they don't directly relate to an increase in civilian border crossings[2][5].
- The Estonian military's evacuation exercises at Narva's railway station aim to prepare the population for a possible siege, as demonstrated by their rehearsals for a major evacuation.
- The closure of the Narva-1 checkpoint for three days during these exercises led to some border congestion, despite no clear surge in border crossings from Russia to Estonia.
- The Estonian government is taking the joint evacuation exercises quite seriously, suggesting that politics play a role in these military drills.
- Though the outcomes of the Estonian military's exercises are still inconclusive, there was a noticeable increase in civilians queuing up to cross the border post-exercise.
