"The commander of the defense forces has made this clear after discussions with various parliamentary parties, and the response has been surprisingly positive. People have asked why the EDF isn't already in Narva. Through the Defense League, we're present there, but the plan is to permanently station units in Narva — to send a strong signal to residents that the Estonian state is firmly present; to normalize the daily presence of service members in the city; and to, in a way, provide a kind of guarantee to Narva residents that yes, we are here, this is Estonia, and it is very clearly an Estonian city," Karus said.

He explained that the EDF plans to build a single base where different units will rotate. "They would be on combat readiness duty for a period, then return to either Jõhvi or Tapa to resume their regular training," he said.

The base will be home to active-duty personnel, conscripts and reservists.

"The unit selected to go — depending on where they are in their training cycle — can bring along all its reservists to carry out combat readiness duties. Initially, we're talking about roughly 200 to 250 personnel at a time."

Vikerraadio host Johannes Voltri asked whether a larger presence in Narva would also mean a stronger armed presence and what weapons systems would be moved closer to the Russian border.

"When the EDF goes there, of course they'll take all their weapons with them," Karus responded. "But this isn't something new — our Viru and Kalev battalions, based in Jõhvi, are already heavily involved in Narva. They regularly go there for training exercises and even for parades, bringing their equipment with them."

Currently, the State Defense Investment Center (RKIK) is evaluating possible real estate sites in Narva and the surrounding area to establish the base — with a clear goal of placing it as close to the city center as possible. "The idea is for it to become a normal part of daily life in Narva," Karus said.

He added that the base would also serve a symbolic function — sending a clear message.

"Estonian soldiers will be stationed in a city that lies directly on the border, one of our largest urban areas. It's a way to send a security signal. But it's also something we owe Narva — the EDF has had very little visible presence there. Narva is the only major Estonian city where that's been the case."

Allied units will also be stationed at the new base.

"Our allies will definitely move where we move, and that's been a conscious decision," Karus said. "Interestingly, they're actually very eager to operate in places like Narva and Jõhvi — there's a kind of exotic appeal to it for them. But for us, the key point is that allied units are integrated with the Estonian Defense Forces, so wherever we go, they go too."

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