Estonia has started construction of five bunkers on its border with Russia – the first of a line that may ultimately comprise up to 600 defensive installations.
Raimond Kaljulaid, head of Estonia’s delegation to NATO, hailed the installation of the first bunkers as a significant milestone, telling British newspaper The Telegraph today: “It is just one example of the resolve of the [Baltic] States to protect our freedom and sovereignty against Russian imperialism.
“Unfortunately, not everyone in Europe understands how serious this situation is. Some leaders understand but are like rabbits in the headlights of a car unable to act on it and actually step up instead of just talking about it.”
The first bunkers will be erected in Setomaa in the country’s southeast. In the coming months Estonia plans to have 28 bunkers ready, according to Krismar Rosin, press officer for the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments.
The bunkers will be constructed in a way that they can withstand a direct hit by 152 mm artillery shells, which are widely used by the Russian army.
By the end of 2027, Estonia plans to have completed a line of 600 concrete bunkers along its border with Russia.
They will be part of a network of layered defences that includes 40km of anti-tank ditches, minefields, barbed wire and the infamous “dragon’s teeth” anti-tank barriers – concrete pyramids with a weight of 1.5 tonnes each.
The network is meant to protect the most exposed part of NATO’s eastern flank from a potential Russian invasion.
In addition to the border wall, the Estonian army is investing in a “drone wall” detection system as well as radars and air defence systems.
Similar efforts are under way in other Baltic States. In January 2024, the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania approved a joint defence concept called the Baltic Defence Line.
In the past, Russian border guards have sometimes made short incursions into Estonian territory.
In May 2024, Russian personnel removed 25 navigation buoys placed by Estonia on its side of the Narva River that separates the two countries.
In October 2025, several armed men showed up on the border in Saatse in southeastern Estonia in what analysts have described as a test of NATO responses.
In the most recent incident yesterday, three border guards crossed the Narva River in a hovercraft and briefly disembarked on a breakwater belonging to Estonia before returning to Russia.
Estonian interior minister Igor Taro said he could not say whether the incident was a provocation by Russia and that a meeting of border representatives had been scheduled for today.
