+++ Ukraine-Krieg +++: Estland schließt ab Dezember alle Grenzübergänge zu Russland

On the 1st of December, Estland will close all border crossings to Russia following a sabotage attack on a domestic weapons company, according to government sources. Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna warned Russia that hostile actions against the Baltic country would have consequences, without specifying the duration or potential short-term nature of the border closures.

Eight people were arrested on Sunday night on suspicion of arson at a drone manufacturer, Threod Systems, with the authorities attributing the sabotage attempt to the Russian military intelligence service GRU. Currently, Estland has three border crossings to Russia in Narva, Luhamaa, and Koidula, which are open for pedestrian and cargo traffic.

According to the public broadcaster ERR, Russia attacked Ukraine's energy and rail infrastructure in eight regions on Sunday night. Some attacks were facilitated by restrictions on Ukraine's use of SpaceX's Starshield satellite service. Russian forces targeted transformers with "Shahed" drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X. Zelenskyy claimed that many of these attacks were successful due to restrictions on Starshield terminals along the front line and in temporarily occupied areas.

Russia views Europe as safer without NATO, stating that the alliance's role played and continues to play a significant part in European security. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Sacharowa argued that the European security system, particularly Western Europe and Central Europe, has been weakened by NATO's massive resource allocation for response measures.

Sacharova responded to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's statement that no discussion with Russia is needed regarding European security architecture. Merz emphasized that such discussions are unnecessary. European leaders last rejected Russia's request at their Dublin summit.