Security situation in Europe

Buses to Estonia: https://www.pagulasabi.ee/en / in Ukrainian: https://www.pagulasabi.ee/uk

In light of Russia’s military attack against Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia has updated its travel advice.

We ask Estonian nationals currently in Ukraine to leave the country at the earliest opportunity and return to Estonia. Due to Russia’s military action, we advise against any travel to Ukraine.

Ukrainian airspace is closed, the country can be left by land.

If you are currently in Ukraine or have to definitely travel to Ukraine, please make sure to register your stay in Ukraine at the reisitargalt.vm.ee web page (in Estonian) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or call +372 5301999. The aim of the registration is to guarantee consular defence and air to an Estonian citizen or a holder of a foreigner's passport (the so-called grey passport) who is staying in a foreign country as a tourist or on work secondment.

The information entered at registration is used in case a crisis situation develops in the region, or is something necessitating the offering of consular aid happens to the registered person.

If I urgently need to go to Ukraine right now, what do I need to take into account?

• It might happen that transport connections, especially air traffic, are interrupted, and border crossing points for travelling on land could be closed.
• You need to consider that the trip might turn out to be significantly longer and more expensive than you planned. You have to bear the accompanying costs (e.g. housing, food etc.) yourself.
• It is definitely necessary to get travel insurance that also covers the costs incurred with trip interruption (the cancellation of flights).

I am an Estonian citizen and am staying in Ukraine. What has to be done? Instructions

• Register your stay in Ukraine at reisitargalt.vm.ee/registreeri-reis or call +372 5301 9999 (24h)
• Leave Ukraine at first opportunity and return to Estonia: air traffic has been closed, you can leave by land.
• If you do decide to stay in Ukraine, you have to consider that war developments might make it increasingly difficult to leave the country.
• Contact your close ones/relatives and keep them updated about your location and activities. Do this both if you decide to stay in Ukraine and when you start your return journey to Estonia.
• If you are in a region that is under attack, make sure to use the offered opportunities to shelter. Leave the area as soon as the circumstances allow.
• Always carry along both your identity document and other necessary documents. Do not keep the documents in a bag, rather keep them at your person (an inside pocket etc.).
• Acquire essential reserves (food, water, medicines) necessary for yourself and your family for up to 48 hours. If you plan to stay in Ukraine, get reserves for a longer period.
• Make sure that you could interact with both your close ones and, if necessary, the state (consular assistance), and that you could keep yourself constantly up to date with the changing information. Keep the battery of your phone charged, get a battery bank, an extra phone etc.
• Find out where you can get trustworthy information by the Ukrainian state and local instructions. It is urgently recommended to follow the instructions issued by the state.
• Avoid participating in and coming in contact with local so-called protests and larger gatherings.
• When travelling to Estonia, avoid routes that take you to regions and states (Russia, Belarus) involved in the armed conflict. It would make sense to first travel away from the war affected areas towards west and then leave through Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, or Romania. These countries also have functioning air traffic.
• If you have registered your stay in Ukraine, let the state also know when you have safely left Ukraine.

• Ukrainian citizens have to follow the orders given by their own state. If Ukraine allows its citizens to leave, then a Ukrainian citizen does not need a visa to come to Estonia. The order of the Head of the Police and Border Guard Board (from February 24) allows visa free entry into Estonia for Ukrainian citizens who hold biometric passports, as well as those who do not have a biometric passport but do have a valid travel document. 

• The border crossing restrictions enacted to stop the spread of COVID, including the obligation to present a COVID certificate, do not apply to Ukrainian citizens and their direct descendants (children, grandchildren) and ascendants (parents, grandparents). Additionally, the Police and Border Guard Board can admit other arrivals, e.g. partners, from Ukraine to Estonia on humanitarian grounds, in order to maintain family unity.

• The City of Tallinn has opened a refugee reception centre to meet the primary needs of the refugees from the war in Ukraine. The centre is located at Niine 2, Tallinn. More information: https://www.tallinn.ee/Refugee-reception-centre-in-Tallinn

If you wish to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, you can find more information

• on the web page For Ukraine: https://www.ukrainaheaks.ee/en

For Ukraine gathers together the donation initiatives of three organisations:

• MTÜ Eesti Pagulasabi (Estonian Refugee Council), EE791010220258852223
• MTÜ Mondo EE491010220099409013
• MTÜ Ukraina Kultuurikeskus (Ukrainian Cultural Center) EE401010220229090221

• at social media: https://www.facebook.com/ukrainaheaks
• The Estonian Red Cross: redcross.ee/anneta/ukraina/ (in Estonian)

The Ukrainian Red Cross has made a request for aid to Estonia: there is a need for all manner of hygiene products, bed linen, pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. These are collected by the charity oriented second hand store Punane Ristik in Mustamäe, Kadaka tee 54. It is also possible to make a monetary donation so that the necessary could be acquired.

• The National Bank of Ukraine has opened a special fundraising account to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine: https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi

• Keep elementary stocks of food, medicines and essential goods at home.

• Think through what to do during a potential power outage and where to go if it is not possible to manage at home anymore because there is no heating, power or water.

• Make sure that you have some cash ready in your wallet to purchase what is essential for a few days up to a week in a situation where card payments do not work due to a power or communications outage.

• If you have a car, keep the fuel tank constantly at least half full and, if possible, keep some fuel at home as backup as well. Estonia has several dozen gas stations that have autonomous power supply and where it is possible to get fuel for cash even in power supply or communications are down. You can find the map of the gas stations here: https://www.espa.ee/et/autonoomse-elektritoitega-tanklad

• Do not leave renewing your documents to the last moment, as the lines might lengthen when there is a power or communications outage or a cyber attack.

• Instructions on how to manage in potential crises can be found here: https://www.rescue.ee/et/kaeitumisjuhised-voimalike-kriisidega-toimetulekuks

• The recommended emergency situation reserves can be found here: https://www.rescue.ee/et/juhend/soovituslik-haedaolukorra-varu

• Guidelines for crisis situations can also be found on the web page Ole Valmis and from the application with the same name: https://www.olevalmis.ee/en

• There will be no food shortage in Estonia. Retail traders, wholesalers, producers and the state all have reserves. Each household should keep a reasonable reserve of foods but there is no point in buying up larger quantities.
• Estonia has sufficient stocks of both gasoline and diesel fuel.
• We have also acquired sufficient quantities of medicines, vaccines, personal protective equipment and other medical goods.

More information can be found on the web page of the Estonian Stockpiling Agency: https://www.espa.ee/en

For individuals

Everyone who uses Estonia’s e-services should have three ways of identification: an ID-card, Mobile-ID, and Smart-ID.

1. Be sceptical about suspicious e-mails that you have received.
2. Update software regularly and make sure you are using the newest version of the software.
3. Use antivirus software.
4. Use a strong password.
5. Do not believe e-mails from unknown senders that are threatening or demand quick action.
6. Do not enter your account information anywhere at the direction of a stranger and do not forward them to a stranger in any other way.
7. Use multi-factor authentication.
8. Create regular backup copies of files both in your computer and in your phone.
9. Do not publicize your personal information.

Where to find information on the most common cyber attacks?

• News and threat assessments published by the Information System Authority
• Regular summaries of the past month's most important events and the situation in the Estonian space, as well as in the international environment (see also Cyber Security Yearbook (in Estonian))
• The Information System Authority Facebook page (in Estonian) and CERT-EE Twitter account.

It is easiest to protect yourself from danger that you are aware of and that you know how to recognize.

How to be prepared for disruptions in payments or cash circulation?

• Keep some cash in your wallet. If card payments don't work, you can make the necessary purchases in cash.
• For a longer disruption, keep a week's reserve of cash at home. The needs of every family are different but generally you should have enough cash to cover one week's emergency expenses.
• If you have several different bank cards in your wallet, try them all. It might happen that the disruption only includes one bank or certain types of cards.
• Don't leave important payments to the last minute. If it is still impossible for you to make the payment in time, let the receiver of the payment know. The banks have backup plans for cases where payment systems between banks are not working. You should still consider that the launching of backup plans takes times and payments do not travel as quickly as they usually do.