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This week, the Estonian Defense Forces began digging anti-tank trenches along the section of the Estonian-Russian border located in southeastern Estonia. This marks the first fieldwork on the Estonian segment of the Baltic Defense Line, which will see the addition of the first bunkers this fall.
"Now we can say that, yes, we have started construction work on the Baltic Defense Line, where in the first phase we are building anti-tank trenches," confirmed Armin Siilivask, project manager for the Baltic Defense Line at Estonia’s Center for Defense Investments.
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The planned anti-tank trench will be built just beyond the green border fence from the Estonian side, only a few meters from the Estonia-Russia control line. Work began in Vinski village, about four to five kilometers from Meremäe, on a rise to the right of the old Petseri road. There, a continuous trench about half a kilometer long with steep sides is being constructed.
"For the anti-tank trench to be most effective, it must meet certain specifications: it should be four meters wide, with sloped sides like you see here, and a depth of two to two and a half meters," explained Lieutenant Colonel Ainar Afanasjev, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces' division engineering unit. "The excavated soil will be placed on our side; the gap between the trench and the embankment will be about a meter, and the embankment will be properly compacted to ensure stability."
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What happens if a tank falls into such a trench? “If it crashes in head-on, the most important thing is that it can’t drive straight through,” explained Afanasjev. “An anti-tank trench slows down the movement of tanks—they’re forced to maneuver inside it, and that makes them very good targets for us.”
“The other scenario is that the tanks don’t enter the trench at all, but instead have to bring in their specialized engineering vehicles—and they don’t have that many of those,” Afanasjev added. “And again, those are very good targets for us.”
According to Afanasjev, the plan this year is to build around four kilometers of anti-tank trenches in southeastern Estonia. In total, the Defense Forces intend to construct around 40 kilometers of these fortifications in the region. There’s a clear reason for that.
“Looking at our terrain, in northeastern and eastern Estonia we have very strong natural barriers in the form of the [Narva] River and [Lake Peipus],” Afanasjev noted. “Southeastern Estonia, by comparison, is somewhat in a weaker position—so that’s why these anti-tank trenches are being built there.”
Most of the trenches are planned on state-owned land, but as of now, not all segments of the planned 40-kilometer network have been finalized and approved.
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“Currently, we have received input from the Defense Forces for the construction of up to four kilometers of anti-tank trenches,” said Armin Siilivask. “The locations for additional trenches will be submitted by the end of the year at the latest. The analysis for further sections is still ongoing, and through that process, we’ll determine exactly how close to or far from the existing border infrastructure the trench can be built. That will also tell us how often we’ll need to coordinate with local municipalities or private landowners.”
The anti-tank trench and accompanying embankment being built along the eastern border will not significantly affect the work of border guards. “We definitely don’t need to monitor it separately, and it won’t impact our operations,” confirmed Romet Niilus, head of the Police and Border Guard Board’s Piusa station. “Only in some places might it affect our line of sight, but we can always coordinate with the Defense Forces and the excavator operator on how and where the soil is piled. It’s not an issue.”
On the contrary: while the trench and embankment are primarily intended to stop military equipment coming from the east, they may also help border guards detect people attempting to cross the border secretly.
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“Absolutely. If someone tries to jump over this embankment, it’s clearly visible from a long distance,” confirmed Niilus. “If they’re coming through the tall grass, you might not notice, but climbing over the embankment—you can see that movement from kilometers away. It definitely slows things down to some extent.”
In addition to building anti-tank trenches, the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) will also begin installing bunkers this year as part of the Baltic Defense Line near the eastern border. While the locations have been selected, they have not yet been fully confirmed.
“The plan is to install up to 14 bunkers in southeastern Estonia by the fall—and the same number in northeastern Estonia,” said Armin Siilivask. A total of 600 bunkers will be installed.