The Wagner flag, flown on the border with Estonia. “They set their sights on St. Petersburg this time?”
Russian coast guard vessel with Wagner flag Photo: X – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
A patrol boat of the Russian Coast Guard was spotted on the Narva River with a flag of the Wagner paramilitary organization, writes The Kyiv Independent. The image captured by the Estonian authorities on the course of the river that demarcates Russia from Estonia provoked ironic comments from the government in Tallinn.
Estonia suggested that displaying the symbol of the mercenary group that rebelled against the Kremlin two years ago “confirms that Russia's iron system is fracturing” as a result of the war in Ukraine and Western pressure.
The Wagner group, led by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, fought some of the toughest battles in Ukraine before launching a brief rebellion against the Russian government in June 2023.
Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash two months after agreeing to end the rebellion against President Vladimir Putin.
“We can only speculate whether the spirit of the leader Prigozhin is still alive in Russia, whether Wagner is trying to conquer Moscow again or this time they have set their sights on St. Petersburg,” said a comment from the Estonian Foreign Ministry.
Is Wagner marching on Moscow again, or starting with St. Petersburg this time? Hard to tell.
From our side it looks like they've already annexed the Russian border guards.
Who knows… @mfa_russia? pic.twitter.com/fJmENccVzC— Estonian MFA 🇪🇪 | 🌻 #StandWithUkraine (@MFAestonia) November 2, 2025
The Narva River forms part of the border between Russia and Estonia, an EU and NATO member country that has systematically supported Ukraine since the outbreak of war in February 2022.
Tallinn has reported many provocations from Russia in recent weeks amid escalating tensions between NATO and Moscow.
Three Russian Mig-31 jets violated Estonian airspace on September 19, just weeks after Poland shot down several Russian drones that entered its territory.
Last month, allied forces shot down an unidentified drone near a military base in southern Estonia, and the appearance of gunmen in the border area imposed travel restrictions at Saatse Boot.
