Russian man paddleboards into Estonia to escape draft 

Estonian border agents arrested a 38-year-old Russian citizen for illegally crossing the border between the two countries in an attempt to avoid mobilization, Estonian migration official Eerik Purgel said on Tuesday.

The man reportedly entered Estonia early Tuesday morning, crossing the Narva River on a paddleboard. Border patrol agents arrested the man at a bus stop in the town of Narva-Jõesuu at about 4:30 am local time. The man was then brought to the Narva border checkpoint, issued a fine, and sent back into Russia.

“This was an illegal border crossing that was done out of fear of the mobilization that’s been announced in the neighboring country,” said Purgel.

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