Estonia says Russian security services commissioned arson attack on defence firm supplying military vehicles to Ukraine

A fire broke out overnight on August 15 at a building in the Estonian capital used by Milrem Robotics, but was quickly brought under control. Representational pic

Estonian authorities on Tuesday said they had concluded that an arson attack on a defence company that supplies military vehicles to Ukraine was a deliberate act of sabotage commissioned by Russian security services, news agency AP reported.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said such actions were "absolutely unacceptable" and that Russia's charge d'affaires in Tallinn was being summoned to his ministry.

A fire broke out overnight on August 15 at a building in the Estonian capital used by Milrem Robotics, but was quickly brought under control, the BNS news agency reported.

On August 17, two Latvian suspects were detained in neighbouring Latvia, followed by a third suspect the next day. The suspects were subsequently handed over to Estonian authorities.

Milrem Robotics has supplied THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine.

Estonia says attack was commissioned by Russian security services

The Estonian Internal Security Service said it had concluded that the arson attack "was a deliberate and pre-planned act commissioned by Russian security services".

In a statement, the security service said the "modus operandi" of the Milrem attack was consistent with other acts of sabotage carried out in Europe on behalf of Russia. It added that it assessed the attack as "directly attributable to the Russian Federation".

Russia has rejected the allegation.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Estonian statements were "unfounded, ill-considered" and did not reflect reality, adding that they contained no substantiation.

"We cannot take such statements seriously, and we won't," Peskov said.

Russia denies allegations of sabotage campaign

Western officials have widely accused Moscow of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption aimed at undermining support for Ukraine and destabilising European countries.

The Associated Press has tracked around 200 incidents of sabotage and malign activity across Europe that have been blamed on Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.

The incidents include alleged plots to set fire to warehouses, drone operations, attempts to kill enemies abroad, theft of defence technology and cyberattacks targeting critical European infrastructure.

In a recent case that pointed to an escalation of such activity, Germany blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August involving a drone laden with explosives.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal wrote on X that "we will not be intimidated."

(With AP inputs)