The comments come after 30 migrants, hailing largely from Somalia and Syria, failed to enter Estonia from Russia last week.

Those arrival attempts came a few weeks after Estonia's neighbor to the north, Finland, said it saw a sudden and atypical surge of nearly 1,000 migrants from Yemen, Somalia, Syria and Iraq via its border with Russia.

Finnish authorities said last week that Russian authorities were likely directly involved in the development.

Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna echoed those remarks, saying the trend was part of an orchestrated move by Russia to weaken his country, adding that authorities were now "prepared to close [Estonia's] border with Russia and defend itself against any hybrid attacks."

Tsahkna had earlier described the surge in irregular migrants coming to Estonia as well as Finland's borders with Russia as "a hybrid attack operation" aimed at undermining security -- especially following Finland's accession to NATO earlier this year.

Also read: Estonia accuses Russia of helping migrants to its border

Estonia, Estonia, which was occupied by the Soviet Union during the Cold War but regained its independence in 1991, has -- like Finland -- become a supporter of Ukraine since Russia's unprovoked invasion of the eastern European nation.

Against that backdrop, Tsahkna said that recent developments along the Finnish-Russian border were "yet more proof that Russia is not fighting only in Ukraine; instead it poses a threat to other countries with its hybrid attacks."

In a statement, the Estonian government also said that it was prepared to help Helsinki if this became necessary.

Also read: Finland to shut last border crossing with Russia

Senior Estonian ministers address developments

Estonia has made preparations to close border crossings if "the migration pressure from Russia escalates" and to deal with migrants if they try to enter outside official crossings.

Tsahkna's statements came days after Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets told the Reuters news agency that "(u)nfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border officials and possibly other agencies" were "involved" in the latest developments.

"Quite frankly, (the) ongoing migration pressure on Europe's eastern border is a hybrid attack operation", he added in the same statement.

Also read: EU's eastern border sees massive rise in people smuggling

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur also called the situation a "fully state-orchestrated" operation by Moscow last week, saying Russia was weaponizing immigration.

Läänemets meanwhile further stressed that "Estonia will not let anyone without [the] legal right and paperwork to enter [the] EU and Schengen area via our border crossing points."

The Kremlin has denied accusations of deliberately pushing undocumented migrants towards other countries.

Also read: How asylum seekers pay to cross Russian-Finnish border

New world order since Ukraine invasion

Finland closed down its last open crossing with Russia on Wednesday night (November 29) after shutting down all other border posts last week.

The Nordic country shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia and is particularly vulnerable towards any action taken by Moscow since joining NATO.

The Finnish and Estonian borders with Russia together form the majority of the EU's and NATO's external borders with Russia.

The other EU members that share a border with Russian territory are Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Also read: Rights groups warn of falling temperatures after migrant death

With AFP, Reuters, TASS Agency