Europe Condemns Russia for Arson at Estonian Defense Firm

European officials criticized Moscow for allegedly being behind an arson attack against a defense manufacturing facility in Estonia, the latest in a series of sabotage incidents attributed to the Kremlin.

French President Emmanuel Macron described the incident as part of “a dangerous escalation” in a post on X, noting that Germany also blamed Russia for a failed drone attack at Leipzig airport in August. European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said Moscow was being “reckless,” according to AFP.

“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, saying he had “full confidence” that Moscow was behind the act.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called allegations of Russia’s involvement “unfounded” and “ill-considered,” according to Interfax. The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

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.

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

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.

“It’s clear that the European defense industry is working in a different security environment than a few years ago,” Milrem CEO Kuldar Väärsi told Bloomberg earlier in September.

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