Saatse Boot transit route closed

On 16 October 2025, the Government of the Republic of Estonia decided, on the proposal of the Police and Border Guard Board (PBGB), to keep the transit route through the Saatse Boot section of the Värska–Saatse road closed.

The PBGB’s proposal to keep the Saatse Boot transit route closed stems from our duty to ensure the safety of people in Estonia. The situation in the Saatse Boot area became tense on 10 October, when our border guards observed an unusually large presence of Russian units there. We then temporarily closed the transit route to prevent possible incidents and provocations.

The sections known as the “Large Boot” and the “Small Boot” constitute a transit route that passes through the territory of the aggressor state, where its laws apply. If the Russian side were to detain anyone there, the Estonian state would not be able to provide assistance to our people. To avoid such risks and to ensure the safety of people in Estonia, the PBGB proposed to the Government that these transit routes remain permanently closed.

The Government discussed the proposal and decided that the transit routes through the Saatse Boot sections will remain closed.

The transit route through the Large Boot is already closed, and an alternative detour is in place via Värska, Treski, Matsuri, and Sesniki.

The Small Boot section will be closed within the next few days, once the Transport Administration has completed the maintenance of the detour road in that area.

The Transport Administration will also begin, as a matter of urgency, the construction of a new road bypassing the Large Boot.