Estonia Probes Russia Link in Fire at Defense Manufacturer
Estonian authorities are investigating potential Russian involvement in a fire that broke out at a building used by defense company Milrem Robotics, according to Prime Minister Kristen Michal.
The prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday it suspected an arson attack at the facilities of the UAE investor-backed manufacturer of autonomous combat vehicles with close ties to Ukraine.
“One version being checked is that it may have been an act of sabotage and that Russia was behind the arson,” Michal said in a Facebook post. “If the purpose of this act was to intimidate Estonia, to put our people at odds with each other, or to make us stop supporting Ukraine, then it will not succeed.”
Read more: Russia Is Already Waging Hybrid War in Europe, Latvia Says
Authorities have identified the suspects and have requested their arrest, according to the prime minister. Nobody was injured in the fire, he said.
Europe has seen an uptick in suspicious activities linked to Russia in recent years, including unauthorized drone flights, assassination attempts and incidents of sabotage. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on Monday that Russia’s hybrid war on the continent has already begun.
The Russian embassy in London on Monday warned that the UK would face “consequences for which it will have to answer” after reports that Kyiv used drones made by British companies to carry out strikes inside Russian territory.
Milrem Robotics, majority-owned by the UAE’s EDGE Group, has supplied Ukraine with unmanned ground vehicles. In June, the company opened a production line in the Netherlands under which the Dutch government will fund 100 additional vehicles for Ukraine.
“We must take into account Russia’s possible provocations and non-military threats,” Margo Palloson, Director General of the Estonian Internal Security Service, said in a statement. “Russia represents a long-term existential threat to Estonia.”
Photograph: Milrem Robotics’ drone vehicles awaiting shipment at the startup’s facility in Tallinn, Estonia in 2025; photo credit: Peter Kollanyi/Bloomberg
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