THIS is the moment three Russian soldiers marched through the mist over the Estonian border, sparking WW3 provocation fears.
The trio were caught on camera walking across the control line between the neighbouring nations on a breakwater in the Narva River.
The grainy footage shows three ghostly figures appearing through thick mist, moving in and out of visibility near the village of Vasknarva, according to the Estonian foreign ministry.
After arriving on a security service aircraft, they proceeded to walk along the river bank, crossing into the Nato area, where they remained for more than 20 minutes.
After their riverside stroll, the three men returned to the plane and crossed back into Russian territory.
The stunt could push Europe closer to WW3, testing the response of Western defences.
TRAGIC LAST ACT
Beauty queen dies in car crash as she went to buy toys for children at Xmas
‘HOW DARE SHE’
Coldplay Kisscam boss slams Gwyneth Paltrow as a ‘hypocrite’ over viral ad
Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro was the one to reveal that the incident had been documented.
“The illegal border crossing has been documented, and we have it on video from the surveillance camera that detected the crossing,” he said.
“There was no immediate security threat, but the [Estonian] police and border guards have significantly increased their presence and patrols.”
He said Estonian forces carried out checks to ensure the Russian soldiers had not planted anything suspicious in the area.
“Naturally, our units went to investigate, but the illegal border crossers were no longer there,” Taro added.
“They had left Estonian territory and returned to their own.
“Traces were found, and the area was checked to ensure nothing was left behind.”
The reason behind the border crossing remains unknown.
The men were three of Putin’s border guards, part of the giant Federal Security Service, previously headed by the Russian despot.
Estonia is expected to summon the Russian ambassador to Tallinn, the capital.
A meeting has been scheduled between the representatives of both border guard authorities, following the intrusion on Wednesday morning.
Taro said low-grade FSB officers may have been to blame.
“What we have observed in recent years is that the quality of border guard personnel on the Russian side varies greatly,” he said.
“Obviously, the aggression against Ukraine affects their structures, as they have likely redirected a number of more competent people elsewhere, probably to the front lines or that region.”
The interior minister also suggested the guards could have had “no understanding of where they are, what they are doing here, or the nuances of the terrain”.
“This is an area where Russian vessels must pass through Estonian territory to access Lake Peipus from the Narva River,” he added.
“There is a long-standing agreement for this….They have always notified us of this….
“This time they did not notify us, and such an incident occurred,” he finished.
Taro was backed by the Estonian prefecture border guard chief Eerik Purgel, who said the border agents had reached out to their Russian counterparts.
This latest border crossing comes after Estonian authorities and Nato officers reported three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had entered the country’s airspace over the Gulf of Finland, remaining there for an estimated 12 minutes.
The action was condemned as a “brazen” violation, with Estonia lodging a diplomatic protest and invoking NATO consultations under Article 4 of the alliance treaty.
Moscow has since denied the aircraft violated Estonian airspace, saying the flight was routine and remained in the international airspace.
In the same month, Russian drones also breached Polish airspace, and prompted Nato fighters to scramble, raising alliance concerns about aerial incursions.
The second illegal crossing comes as Europe’s leaders are poised to deliver a big blow to Russia.
The leaders, who Vladimir Putin called ‘swine’ on Wednesday, are meeting in Brussels today to thrash out a war loan deal for Ukraine.
Poland‘s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “We have a simple choice – either money today or blood tomorrow.
“And I am not talking about Ukraine only, I am talking about Europe.”