Ukrainian man makes a dash through border crossing point from Russia to Estonia

TALLINN - A citizen of Ukraine made use of Russian border guard officials having been distracted on Tuesday evening and drove his car straight through the Sumilkino border checkpoint into Estonia, the regional Louna-Eesti Postimees reports. 

The Ukrainian man used a vehicle with local registration plates and drove through the border inspection point unhindered, the Pskov-based news source Lenta Novostey reports. The man reportedly used the heavy goods vehicle lane to make his dash for the border as there are no barriers on the said lane.

Lenta Novostey reported that it had learned of the incident from its own sources and that this was allegedly not an isolated case.

Spokesperson for the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board Ragne Keisk told Louna-Eesti Postimees the incident had indeed taken place on Tuesday.

"On the evening of Aug. 9, a citizen of Ukraine entered Estonia through the Luhamaa border crossing point. As the man arrived in the state by a faulty vehicle and confirmed that he left the Russian Federation without undergoing border inspections, he was initially apprehended by the [Estonian] border guards," Keisk said.

"He was taken to the station for supplementary inspection and for determining the circumstances of the incident. The man was sober, had a legal basis for staying in the country and he had not committed any offenses here, so after some thorough talks he was permitted to continue his journey," she added.

The incident may have been the reason why a Russian helicopter ended up in the Estonian airspace while flying in the border area on the evening of Aug. 9.