Overview
- Prime Minister Kristen Mihal said the transborder road is closed permanently and that Estonian residents should not use Russian territory.
- Interior Minister Igor Taro announced plans to finish a new bypass within a year, possibly sooner, with the environmental impact assessment canceled to speed construction.
- Authorities said the closure of the Värska–Saatse stretch was taken for security reasons after prior temporary blockages reported by ERR.
- The legacy route crosses into Russia twice, including a roughly 1 km section once used for non-stop, visa-free transit by motorists.
- The decision unfolds against an unresolved legal border backdrop, with 2014 land and maritime delimitation agreements still awaiting parliamentary ratification along the 338 km frontier.