Contents tagged with Estonia

  • US transfers confiscated Russian funds to Estonia for Ukrainian aid

    The United States has transferred $500,000 in confiscated Russian funds to Estonia to aid Ukraine, repoted the US Department of Justice.

    According to the department, the funds were seized by the US following the interception in 2022 of an illicit attempt to import into Russia a high-precision coordinate grinding machine produced in America, intended for use "in the defense sector and in the sphere of nuclear weapons proliferation."

    The machine does not require an export license to European …

  • Estonia expels Russian-backed Orthodox church leader over security concerns

    Estonia has decided not to renew the residency permit of the head of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Yevgeny (secular name Valery Reshetnikov). The cleric, who holds Russian citizenship, is required to leave the country by February 6 when his current residence permit expires, according to reporting by Delfi, citing the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board.

    The Ministry of Interior officials have repeatedly spoken with the Metropolitan, urging him to …

  • Estonian government considers revoking residence permits of those applying for Russian citizenship

    Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has confirmed that the country's authorities are working on measures that would allow the revocation of residence permits for those who apply for Russian citizenship if they are deemed to pose a security threat, reports Postimees.

    Kallas said that she believes that the desire to obtain Russian citizenship indicates a willingness to join the Russian army and take part in combat operations in Ukraine. "This is already a threat to the security of the Republic …

  • Russia suspected of blowing up Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia

    Norwegian seismologists detected a possible explosion in the Baltic Sea during the night of  October 7-8 at 01:20 local time (which coincides with Moscow time). The incident is said to have occurred near the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia, according to a statement from NORSAR (the Norwegian-US foundation for the detection of earthquakes and nuclear explosions).

    The magnitude of the seismic event is estimated to be 1, which is much lower than the explosion that …

  • Estonian Prime Minister proposes joint trade embargo against Russia, calls for support from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland

    Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has made a proposal following a scandal surrounding her husband's business ties with Russia. She called on the neighbouring countries to introduce a unified trade embargo against Russia. According to Kallas, Finland could play a key role in this matter.

    Kallas said she had not spoken  with Finland's new Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, yet but promised to do so.

    Estonian broadcaster ERR highlights that daily exports from Estonia to Russia include electronics, …

  • Estonian intelligence chief: Ukrainian troops are close to major success at the front

    The actions of the Ukrainian troops during the counteroffensive and signs of difficulties experienced by the Russians suggest that soon the Ukrainian Armed Forces can deliver a major success at the front, said the Commander of the  Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, Colonel Margo Grosberg.

    Grosberg spoke about the tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to destroy the command posts and logistics centers of Russian troops with pinpoint strikes, about successes near Bakhmut and what the …

  • Estonian Parliament recognizes Russia as a terrorist state

    The Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) adopted a statement condemning the annexation of the territory of Ukraine and declaring Russia as a terrorist regime. The declaration was unanimously supported by all 88 members of parliament.

    "Putin's regime, threatening to use nuclear weapons, has made Russia the greatest threat to peace both in Europe and around the world," the document reads.

    Estonian MPs supported the appeal of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to deprive the …

  • Estonian Foreign Minister congratulates Ukrainian Special Services on destroying Crimean bridge

    Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu suggested that Ukraine may be behind the explosions on the Crimean bridge and congratulated the "Ukrainian special forces" on this event.

    "Estonia certainly welcomes this (the explosion on the Crimean bridge) and congratulates the Ukrainian special forces units that are probably behind this operation," said the Estonian Foreign Minister.

    He added that the Crimean bridge has an important symbolic value for Russia, since it connects Russia and Crimea and …

  • Estonia intends to demand that the EU stops issuing visas to Russians

    The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing proposals to the European Union to stop issuing visas to Russian citizens, said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu on the air of ETV.

    "The bottom line is that the European Union should stop issuing regular visas to Russian citizens. There are humanitarian cases. For example, associates of Alexei Navalny, they would be considered separately," Reinsalu said.

    "But it's really funny that Russian citizens are now traveling en masse across …

  • Estonia and Latvia recognize Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine as genocide

    Latvia and Estonia have become the first countries in the world to officially recognize the crimes of the Russian Federation in Ukraine as genocide

    The parliaments of Latvia and Estonia adopted statements acknowledging that Russia had committed genocide against the Ukrainian people. 

    In the statement published on its website, the Estonian Parliament says that the Russian Federation committed acts of genocide, including mass atrocities, against the civilian population in the temporarily …