Estonia blames Russia for arson at defence company supplying Ukraine

Estonian authorities say Russia was responsible for an arson attack last month on a defence company in Tallinn that supplies Ukraine.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the attack on Milrem Robotics, which provides Ukraine with unmanned military vehicles, was ordered by Russian special services, though he offered no further details.

Moscow has been accused of carrying out sabotage operations in several Nato countries that have supported Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

Russia rejects those claims and has also swiftly dismissed Estonia’s accusation. Even so, EU countries have backed Estonia, saying such attacks will not stop them from helping Ukraine.

The fire at Milrem Robotics happened on the night of 14-15 August.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that, based on information gathered by the country’s Internal Security Service, “we can conclude with certainty that the arson attack... was an act of sabotage ordered by the special services of the Russian Federation”.

Security service chief Margo Palloson told broadcaster ERR that Russia was “constantly planning, looking for opportunities, trying to find people who would carry out attacks”, but that last month’s arson attack was its first successful attack this year.

The foreign minister said the suspects had been detained, and Palloson said they were Latvians who had been living in Russia and had taken part in earlier attacks. Three suspects were arrested in Latvia and extradited to Estonia earlier this month.

Margus Tsahkna said that “this act of sabotage is part of Russia’s broader campaign across Europe, aimed at intimidating us and weakening our support for Ukraine”.

French President Emmanuel Macron responded to Estonia’s assessment, saying “the multiplication of these hostile acts represents a dangerous escalation by Russia, which will only lead it into a dead end”.

He referred to the incident at Leipzig airport in Germany in August, where an explosive-laden drone was found near Ukrainian cargo planes.

“Russia needs to know that it will not overcome our unity or our determination to continue supporting Ukraine,” Macron added.

An EU spokesman said the 27-member bloc would not stop supporting Ukraine.

Nato chief Mark Rutte urged European governments to remain calm and keep backing Ukraine.

“Russia continues its reckless campaign of hostile actions against Nato allies. It is trying to weaken our resolve and stop our support for Ukraine. But Russia is failing. It is failing on the battlefield in Ukraine and it is failing to undermine our unity and support for Ukraine,” Rutte said.

In August alone, Russia was either accused or suspected of the Leipzig airport incident in Germany, a major fire at a defence firm warehouse in Bulgaria, a large explosion at a munitions factory outside Rome in Italy, an attempted arson attack on a Ukrainian-owned drone manufacturer in Slovakia, and two suspicious fires in Poland - the latest in a country that has reported several such attacks.

Hybrid warfare, or hybrid attacks, is a broad term used for non-military methods such as cyber-attacks, sabotage or misinformation, intended to pressure and destabilise an opponent.

Estonia’s internal security service, known as Kapo, said Russia was still seeking further chances to carry out sabotage or other hostile acts.

“Individuals recruited for such operations may be misled or manipulated and may be given false or fabricated justifications for their actions in an effort to conceal the involvement of the Russian state,”

Russia consistently denies involvement in such attacks despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said “such statements are baseless, ill-considered, have absolutely no relation to reality, and lack any form of reasoning”.

“We cannot and will not take such statements seriously,” Dmitry Peskov said.