“Today, we can state with full confidence that the arson attack on Milrem in Estonia on the night of 15 August was an act of sabotage commissioned by the special services of the Russian Federation. The Estonian Internal Security Service has reached this conclusion after a thorough assessment of the information it has gathered,” Prime Minister Kristen Michal said.
According to the Prime Minister, the act of sabotage is part of Russia’s broader campaign in Europe, aimed at intimidating us and forcing us to reduce our support for Ukraine and the pressure on Russia. “Such activity is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible,” Michal said, adding that it also demonstrates Moscow’s growing desperation in a situation where Russia has failed to achieve the objectives of its aggression against Ukraine.
At the same time, Estonia is strengthening its preparedness and internal security to counter such Russian activities. “The Estonian state is capable of protecting its security,” the Prime Minister said. “Thanks to Estonia’s strong security and law enforcement agencies, our country is an exceptionally difficult environment for an adversary to conduct such operations, and similar activities have also been prevented before they could be carried out. Russia will not intimidate us or change our policies through such actions.”
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna confirmed that Estonia’s response will be exactly the opposite of what Russia is seeking to achieve. “Together with our allies and partners in Europe and beyond, we will increase pressure on Russia, tighten sanctions, and seek additional ways to restrict the travel of Russian citizens to Europe. We will also continue and strengthen our comprehensive support for Ukraine. Russia’s attempts to intimidate us will not diminish our resolve — they will only strengthen it.”
According to Margo Palloson, Director General of the Estonian Internal Security Service, the threat of provocations and attempted acts of sabotage originating from Russia remains. “Russian special services continue their attempts to recruit and influence people in Europe, including for the purpose of carrying out acts of sabotage. Organisations contributing to the support of Ukraine and defence industry companies face an elevated threat. The Estonian Internal Security Service recommends that they strengthen both their physical and cyber security measures,” Palloson said.
“Estonian security authorities are closely monitoring Russia’s activities and cooperate closely with both Estonian companies and international partners to prevent such incidents,” Palloson added. “Estonia is a safe country, and our goal is to ensure that it remains so.”
The criminal investigation into the exact circumstances of the incident is continuing, but the preliminary information gathered so far in the criminal proceedings also indicates that the attack was commissioned. The suspects believed to have directly carried out the arson attack have been apprehended and taken into custody and no longer pose a threat.
On the night of 15 August, a fire broke out in a building used by defence industry company Milrem Robotics on Betooni Street in Tallinn’s Lasnamäe district. Emergency services responded immediately and the fire was quickly brought under control. No lives were in danger.
On 17 August, two Latvian citizens suspected of carrying out the arson attack were detained in Latvia. A third suspect was detained on 18 August. Searches of locations associated with the suspects in Latvia resulted in the seizure of numerous data storage devices and items that may have been used to set fire to the building.
On 17–18 September, Latvia handed over all three suspects to Estonia.
Defence industry company Milrem Robotics, in cooperation with European Union countries, supplies THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine.
