TALLINN, Estonia, Aug. 28 (UPI) — Estonia said it plans to build a fence along its eastern border with Russia to protect against perceived border violations.
The plan is expected to cost 71 million Euro ($80 million dollars) with construction beginning in 2018, BBC News reported.
The fence, which would cover over a third of the border with Russia, will be outfitted with barbed wire, drones and video cameras.
The Estonian government said the wall is a response to Russian aggression in the region, particularly in the Baltic states. Russian forces are conducting missile, ground and air exercises in Western regions, near Eastern Europe, TASS and Interfax reported.
Tension has been high between Russia and the former Soviet country. A Russian court convicted Eston Kohver, an Estonian security officer, of espionage. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The FSB, Russia’s domestic security service, said that Kohver was on a “spying operation” on Russian territory, a charge heavily disputed by his backers.
Estonia joined NATO and the European Union in 2004.
