Estonia said Russia conducted an unannounced live-fire exercise over Lake Peipus on July 9 near its border.Latvian outlet Delfi, citing Estonian media Postimees, said the incident was likely an exercise to counter naval drones.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“The firing was conducted at a moving target on the water. Perhaps weather conditions prevented the exercise from being conducted in the Gulf of Finland, or for some other reason, it took place on Lake Peipus,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur was quoted as saying.“Or perhaps units beyond Piirissaar Island were also assigned this task. The Russian Border Service has never done anything like this before,” he added.The lake is shared by both Estonia and Russia, located 51 kilometers (32 miles) from the Estonian city of Narva, which is largely Russian-speaking and the subject of border disputes between Tallinn and Moscow over a potential Russian invasion.On Aug. 24, 2025, a drone flew over the lake twice before falling into its waters.Pevkur said the latest incident was “not an ordinary event.”“This is certainly not an ordinary event. Russia has not conducted any exercises involving the use of weapons on Lake Peipus. In this sense, this is something new,” Pevkur added.Interior Minister Igor Taro called the incident a provocation.“We have very clear rules of conduct in the border zone: What is and isn’t allowed. People in military uniform don’t usually approach the border just to conduct some kind of exercises out of the blue,” Taro said.