Other MoA event in Ivangorod area, Russian Federation on Tue 17th December 2024

Russia’s mysterious blimps have sparked fresh fears after they were spotted on the Estonian border emblazoned with the ‘Z’ war symbol.

The white spaceship-like aircraft was seen on the Russian side of the frontier near Narva, Estonia’s third largest city, on the far outskirts of NATO territory.

Estonian authorities initially decided to ignore the suspicious blimp, but the following day alarm bells began ringing when it returned – this time marked with a ‘Z’, the symbol of Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The June incident sowed fear and confusion for Estonia, with the director-general of the border force in the northern European country explaining: ‘We are seeing things like this nearly every week’.

Located on NATO’S eastern border, Narva has become the constant target of warfare tactics employed by Russia – with the Kremlin having regularly dropped these surveillance blimps and removing Estonian border infrastructure in the middle of the night.

‘Everything that is on the other side of the border, I wouldn’t use [the term] ‘free world’ to describe that,’ Egert Belitsev added.

He also highlighted that although it ‘good to see that Russia is using modern technology’ through the mysterious blimps, ‘it was intentionally made visible to everyone, to say: ‘We are watching you’.

‘They’re trying to provoke a reaction. They want to see how we respond,’ Belitsev said.

The white spaceship-like aircraft was seen in June on the Russian side of the frontier near Narva, Estonia’s third largest city, on the far outskirts of NATO territory

Tensions on Narva’s 200-mile frontier have sky-rocketed in recent months, according to Estonian border guards.

Police have claimed there has been a rise in numbers of border security incidents, such a anti-West protests, attempted smuggling of weapons parts, and dangerous aircraft stunts.

The Narva Museum – which faces directly towards Russia – has also found itself at the centre of the growing tensions after conducting a number of anti-Putin stunts and hosting exhibitions that highlight Russian propaganda and war crimes.

For the last two years, the museum has displayed a banner reading ‘Putin is a war criminal’ on the side of Narva’s castle, facing towards Ivangorod, a Russian border town that lies just 101 metres away.

Russian officials demanded that Estonian border representatives take the anti-Putin banner down, but they refused.

Estonia, which joined NATO and the EU in 2004, defiantly remains one of Russia’s most vocal opponents in Europe.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Estonia forked out more money towards military aid for war-torn country than any other, and it proudly supports Kyiv’s ambitions to join NATO.

This support, and Estonia’s decision to implement restrictions at the Narva crossing point used by city’s Russian speakers has infuriated Putin, who at the time of his storming indicated that he had his sights set on Narva, suggesting that it would be justifiable to ‘take back and secure’ the border city.