Estonia says Russia ordered arson attack on defence robotics firm
Estonia's security service has formally attributed an August arson attack on defence company Milrem Robotics to Russian security services, drawing solidarity from Lithuania and Sweden as Russia continued overnight strikes on Ukraine.
Attack in Tallinn
On 15 August, an arson attack targeted defence and drone technology company Milrem Robotics in Tallinn. Estonia's Internal Security Service (KAPO) said the attack was a deliberate, pre-planned act commissioned by Russian security services. The perpetrators have been apprehended and no longer pose a threat to national security.
KAPO said the modus operandi matches other sabotage acts carried out across Europe on Russia's behalf, noting that defence companies — particularly those working on drone technology — and organisations supporting Ukraine have been targeted by Russian services since the war began. Since the invasion started, KAPO and its partners have identified and detained more than 20 individuals involved in Russian-directed attacks across Europe. The agency warned the threat from Russian efforts to destabilise Estonian society and undermine support for Ukraine will remain high in coming years.
Estonia's foreign minister Margus Tsahkna condemned the attack as "absolutely irresponsible" and summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires. He said Estonia would respond by increasing both its support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia.
Allies express solidarity
Lithuania's foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys said "Russia's fingerprints are all over" the attack, warning that Russia's hostile activities "do not stop at Ukraine's borders." Sweden's caretaker prime minister Ulf Kristersson called the attribution "extremely serious" and pledged full support for Estonia.
Overnight strikes on Ukraine
Russia continued striking Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. In Kyiv, a railway depot, data centres, business centres and residential buildings were damaged. In the Odesa region, strikes hit an educational institution, a dormitory and two foreign vessels; regional governor Oleh Kiper said at least eight people were injured in strikes on port facilities. Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr, Volyn and Rivne regions also came under attack, with damage to energy facilities. Zelenskyy thanked the US and Norway for a NASAMS air defence system, and France and Germany for additional missile support.
