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Estonia Accuses Russia of Ordering Arson Attack on Defence Firm, Citing Wider Sabotage Campaign
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Moneycontrol•29-09-2026, 18:06
Estonia Accuses Russia of Ordering Arson Attack on Defence Firm, Citing Wider Sabotage Campaign
- •Estonia accuses Russian security services of orchestrating an arson attack on Milrem Robotics, an Estonian defence company, as part of a broader campaign to intimidate European countries and weaken support for Ukraine.
- •The August 15 fire at Milrem Robotics, a developer of unmanned military systems that supplies its THeMIS vehicle to Ukraine, was deemed deliberate and commissioned by Russian security services after an investigation.
- •Three Latvian citizens suspected of involvement were detained in Latvia and extradited to Estonia; Estonia has also summoned Russia's charge d'affaires over the incident.
- •Russia, through Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, has rejected the allegations as "baseless" and having "absolutely no relation to reality."
- •NATO, the EU, and various European leaders have expressed solidarity with Estonia, viewing the incident as part of Russia's ongoing "hybrid" campaign of hostile actions against countries supporting Ukraine.
Key Questions Answered
An arson attack took place on August 15 at a building used by Milrem Robotics, an Estonian defence technology company that develops unmanned military systems like the THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle.
Estonia's Internal Security Service concluded the attack was pre-planned and ordered by Russian security services, leading to the detention of three Latvian suspects and the summoning of Russia's charge d'affaires in Tallinn.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected Estonia's allegation as baseless, stating it had absolutely no relation to reality and that the Russian government would not take such statements seriously.
