Estonia Says Russia Behind Arson Attack on Defense Firm

Estonia’s government said with “full confidence” that Russian special services commissioned an August arson attack against a defense manufacturing facility in Tallinn. “The arson attack on Milrem in Estonia on the night of 15 August was an act of sabotage,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said in a press release on Tuesday. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a statement he would summon Moscow’s chargé d’affaires in Tallinn and seek to pressure the Kremlin by tightening sanctions and further restricting Russian citizens’ travel to Europe. Read more: Russia’s Attacks on Europe Are Getting More Brazen and More Dangerous Estonian officials said the attack on the company that supplies unmanned vehicles to Ukraine is part of a broader Russian campaign of sabotage and aggression across Europe to deter support for Kyiv. The August incident demonstrates Moscow’s growing desperation as it has failed to achieve its military objectives in Ukraine, Michal said. Margo Palloson, director of Estonia’s domestic security services, warned on Tuesday that Europe’s defense industry faces an elevated threat and urged it to strengthen physical and cyber security. The criminal investigation is still under way, according to the press release. The August fire at Milrem’s Betooni Street facility in the Estonian capital’s Lasnamäe district was quickly extinguished and no lives were endangered, according to authorities. Two Latvian citizens and a third suspect were detained days later in neighboring Latvia and handed over to Estonian authorities. Searches resulted in the seizure of data storage devices and items that may have been used to light the fire, authorities said. Photograph: Milrem Robotics drone vehicles in Tallinn in 2025; photo credit: Photo credit: Peter Kollanyi/Bloomberg Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. Topics Russia Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Here are more articles you may enjoy.