Estonia detains dozens of Belarus migrants, Finland offers help

Over the past two weeks Estonia has detained more than 80 migrants who entered the country after crossing from Belarus into Latvia. The migrants, many of whom were headed for Finland, were found in hotels, the Tallinn city centre and around the port. Interior Minister Igor Taro said the influx is part of a hybrid attack orchestrated by the Minsk regime and that the situation is unlikely to improve while weather conditions remain favourable.

Estonia and Finland have agreed to a joint operation, with Finnish forces ready to be deployed within hours to ports and airports to assist Estonian police and border guards. The migrants will be returned to Latvia in line with EU rules, and additional Latvian border‑guard rotations will support the Latvian‑Belarusian frontier for the next two months. The Estonian Police and Border Guard Board and its director general Egert Belitšev briefed the public on the ongoing crisis.