Estonia blames Russian special services for arson at Milrem Robotics building in Tallinn
On 29 September, Estonia's Security Police concluded that the August 15 arson at a Milrem Robotics building in Tallinn was an act of sabotage ordered by Russian special services. Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Estonia can state this with full confidence, and Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced that Russia's chargé d'affaires had been summoned. Three suspects, identified as Latvian citizens, were detained in Latvia and transferred to Estonia. Milrem Robotics supplies unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine in cooperation with EU countries.
Key points
- Fire broke out at a Milrem Robotics building in Tallinn's Lasnamäe district during the night of August 15.
- Estonian Security Police concluded the arson was an act of sabotage ordered by Russian special services.
- Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Estonia can state with full confidence that Russian services ordered the sabotage.
- Three suspects, identified as Latvian citizens, were detained in Latvia and transferred to Estonian custody.
- On 29 September Estonia summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires, identified as Lenar Salimullin.
- Milrem Robotics supplies THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine in cooperation with EU countries.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Estonia's accusations 'unfounded' and disconnected from reality.
What happened
During the night of August 15, a fire broke out at a building used by the Estonian defence company Milrem Robotics in the Lasnamäe district of Tallinn. On 29 September, Estonia's Security Police concluded that the arson was an act of sabotage ordered by Russian special services. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the assessment was reached after a thorough review of the gathered information and that Estonia could state the finding with full confidence. Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced that Estonia had summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires, Lenar Salimullin, in response. The Security Police also assessed the attack as part of a broader Russian campaign in Europe aimed at intimidating allies and reducing support for Ukraine, and recommended that organisations supporting Ukraine and defence industry firms strengthen their physical and cyber security. Milrem Robotics, which supplies THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine in cooperation with EU countries, said the fire did not affect its supply chains. A criminal investigation into the exact circumstances of the incident is ongoing.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the exact date of the fire, with some reporting the night of 15 August and others the night of 14–15 August. There is also minor variation in the number of suspects said to have been detained in Latvia: most sources report all three, while one article reports only two. The spelling of the Estonian Security Police director general's surname varies across sources (Palloson, Pallosson, Pallossoni, Pallosoni), as does that of the foreign minister (Tsahkna, Tsakhkna).
Background
Milrem Robotics produces THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles and supplies them to Ukraine in cooperation with EU countries; in June it opened a production line in the Netherlands funded by the Dutch government to produce an additional 100 units for the Ukrainian army. Estonian Defence Minister Martin Herem said Estonia would continue to allocate 0.25% of its GDP to support Ukraine despite Russian threats and sabotage. Western intelligence sources have reported a broader Russian campaign recruiting members of local criminal groups to attack European weapons factories. A similar suspected attack on a Ukrainian drone manufacturer in Prešov, Slovakia, has been linked by German media to Russian military intelligence, prompting Slovak opposition to demand explanations from Prime Minister Robert Fico.