Estonian units and allied forces will be stationed in Narva on a rotating basis.
The Estonian government has announced plans to build a military base in Narva, a northeastern city separated from Russia by only a river. On April 23, Estonian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Gen. Vahur Karus announced that between 200 and 250 servicemen from various Estonian and foreign units will be stationed at the base on a rotating basis. They will include active-duty soldiers, reservists, and conscripts.
,,The commander of the defense forces has made this clear after discussions with various parliamentary parties, and the response has been surprisingly positive. People have asked why the EDF isn't already in Narva. Through the Defense League, we're present there, but the plan is to permanently station units in Narva — to send a strong signal to residents that the Estonian state is firmly present; to normalize the daily presence of service members in the city; and to, in a way, provide a kind of guarantee to Narva residents that yes, we are here, this is Estonia, and it is very clearly an Estonian city, Karus said.
About 90 percent of Narva's population of 53,000 are ethnically Russian. It is Estonia's third-largest city after Tallinn and Tartu.
The construction of the base in Narva is another recent step toward strengthening Estonia's defense. Last year, the Reedo base near the town of Võru in the south of the country was commissioned, and the construction of 600 bunkers along the border with Russia began in 2025.
Against the backdrop of a growing threat in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states and Poland are stepping up efforts to strengthen their defenses. In March, they announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of anti-personnel mines.
Sergey Rybalkin / vot-tak.tv, MD / en.belsat.eu
