Estonia’s government said it has “full confidence” that an August 2026 arson attack on Milrem Robotics, a defence company based in Tallinn, was “an act of sabotage commissioned by the special services of the Russian Federation,” according to a statement published on the government’s official web site.
The statement noted that Estonia’s Internal Security Service reached its conclusion after an investigation, “a thorough assessment of the information it has gathered.” Speculation that Russia was involved had surfaced almost immediately after the attack.
Russia has been engaging in a series of grey-zone warfare tactics to rattle countries and the organisations within them that are supporting Ukraine in the war. Milrem, in cooperation with European Union countries, supplies THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine. Prime Minister Kristen Michal was quick to identify this and Estonia’s response.
“This is part of Russia’s broader campaign across Europe to intimidate us and weaken our support for Ukraine,” he wrote on social media site X. “It will not work. Our response will be the opposite: stronger security at home, more support for Ukraine and greater pressure on Russia. We will not be intimidated.”
The 15 August fire broke out at Milrem’s facility in the Lasnamäe district of the capital, where the company manufactures unmanned and autonomous ground systems.
Four days later, three culprits, Latvian citizens, were apprehended in Latvia. Milrem officials confirmed to Resilience Media earlier this month, during a plant visit, that the offenders have now been extradited to Estonia.
The company said that damage was done, but they were dealing with it and it did not impact “the promises we have made to our customers.”
Milrem said that it was in the process of “adding several layers of security,” and, on a lighter note, added that it was perhaps a “quality mark” as well. “It means that we are creating the technology that really matters,” one official said.
Disposable agents
This fire is just one of Russia’s alleged attempts to sabotage the European defence industry. As with the Estonian incident, a common theme is the employment of people who appear to be working at arms’ length from Russia itself.
Recently, the German publication DW, collaborating with broadcasters in Lithuania, Czechia and Spain, ran an investigation into the activities of a Cuban dance teacher living in Russia, who had been coordinating with the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, to build a network of “disposable agents” across Europe — typically Spanish-speaking individuals who were migrants or looking for extra money.
These agents, DW said, were paid up to thousands of euros to carry out arson attacks on a range of targets that included construction supply businesses, a bus depot, a recycling facility, and a company making equipment for Ukraine. There were also agents engaged for sabotage and espionage operations. Convictions of the agents are making their way through the course, and there is also now a warrant out for the arrest of the dance instructor (who is now a Russian citizen).
There have been a number of other incidents that are now generally also being attributed to Russian-backed agents. They include the attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport in August 2026; a fire at a plant in Poland that makes drone parts for Polish and Ukrainian militaries; and a fire at a Ukrainian drone company in Czechia.
Russia has denied any involvement in these incidents.
Strengthen physical and cyber security measures
Margo Palloson, director general of the Estonian Internal Security Service, said that Russian special services continue their campaign to “recruit and influence people in Europe, including for the purpose of carrying out acts of sabotage,” and that organisations supporting Ukraine, and defence industry companies, “face an elevated threat.” These companies “strengthen both their physical and cyber security measures,” the service recommends.
“Estonian security authorities are closely monitoring Russia’s activities and cooperate closely with both Estonian companies and international partners to prevent such incidents,” Palloson added. “Estonia is a safe country, and our goal is to ensure that it remains so.”
Moscow’s growing desperation
In the press release issued by the Estonian government, the Prime Minister said that such an act of sabotage is part of an intimidation tactic by Russia to force Europe to reduce its support for Ukraine. That it is “absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible,” calling it “Moscow’s growing desperation” due to the aggressor’s failed objectives of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“The Estonian state is capable of protecting its security,” the Prime Minister said while commenting on Estonia’s strengthened preparedness and internal security towards its neighbours’ antics. “Thanks to Estonia’s strong security and law enforcement agencies, our country is an exceptionally difficult environment for an adversary to conduct such operations, and similar activities have also been prevented before they could be carried out. Russia will not intimidate us or change our policies through such actions.”
Such attempts of intimidation and sabotage by Russia is not having the desired effect on Estonia.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna confirmed that Estonia’s response will be exactly the opposite of what Russia is seeking to achieve.
“Together with our allies and partners in Europe and beyond, we will increase pressure on Russia, tighten sanctions, and seek additional ways to restrict the travel of Russian citizens to Europe. We will also continue and strengthen our comprehensive support for Ukraine. Russia’s attempts to intimidate us will not diminish our resolve — they will only strengthen it.”
