Russia's increasingly cross-border technological attacks mean that strengthening and continuously developing drone capabilities is more important than ever. In response to the hostile activities of its eastern neighbor, Estonian Minister of the Interior Igor Taro proposes using the EU hybrid activity sanctions regime.
According to Igor Taro, the continued development of drone capabilities is a near-term priority due to Russia’s military moves, and proposals have been submitted to the government to allocate additional funds to this area from the broad-based national defense funds. “My proposal is to reallocate funds within the broad-based national defense investment plan and significantly increase the internal security drone capabilities by 400,000 euros. The total amount would therefore be 1.1 million euros.”
He noted that Russia’s increasingly brutal interference in the lives of neighboring countries in the past few years has also had an impact on the activities of Estonian security agencies. "For example, there have been cases where Police and Border Guard Board observation flights have been disrupted. Sometimes the equipment has become unusable as a result of interference from satellite signals, and currently the direct material damage from the adversary's activities in the last three months in our area of government alone amounts to half a million euros. This situation may sometimes make us bitter, but it give us good incentives to be smart in our development work and find new solutions. Temporary inconvenience can be the basis for increasing the sense of security. I am pleased to say that so far the Police and Border Guard Board has been up to the task. They have neutralized or prevented every move by the adversary, and our eyes have always been where they are needed," said Taro.
“I propose using the EU’s hybrid activity sanctions regime. Both those who execute orders that harm our neighbors and those who plan these actions at a higher level in the capital will have to face the consequences of their actions in the future. Participants in an aggression have no place in the civilized world. We also plan to hold consultations soon with our closest allies who are affected by these hostilities as well,” the Minister of the Interior added.
Veiko Kommusaar, Deputy Director General of the Police and Border Guard Board, acknowledged that the Police and Border Guard Board will continue to fly drones on the eastern border. “Furthermore, we plan to increase the number of flights,” he said.
“Indeed, we have experienced some incidents and these are likely to continue in the future, but over the years we have consistently worked to improve the ability of our drones to fly in difficult conditions and we intend to continue this development work,” Kommusaar explained.
Director General of the Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority Kristi Talving said that the GPS navigation system interference has intensified in Estonia and a new interference source has been added in July, which both interferes with and spoofs the GPS signal. “The greatest impact has been identified around Narva and the Narva Bay area, where it is not safe to fly drones even at low altitudes,” Talving noted.
“Flying and traveling by ship continue to be safe, because both sea and air transport primarily use other means of navigation that do not rely on GPS signals,” Talving assured.
Please enter your username and password.
2026 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy
