Estonia says Russia ordered August arson attack on defence company

What the report says

Estonia has accused Russia of ordering an August arson attack on Milrem Robotics, a Tallinn-based defence company that supplies unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine. In comments reported by Al Jazeera on 29 September 2026, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the incident was an act of sabotage linked to Russian special services. He said the suspects had been detained and that Estonia had summoned the Russian ambassador.

The Kremlin rejected the accusation. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the claims were baseless and had no connection to reality. Estonia, which is a member of both the EU and NATO, has frequently warned about hybrid threats since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it has stepped up defence spending alongside other Baltic states.

The allegation drew quick backing from NATO and several European allies. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Russia was continuing hostile actions against alliance members and trying to weaken support for Ukraine. French, Lithuanian, Latvian and Swedish leaders also voiced solidarity with Estonia and described the attack as part of a wider pattern of pressure on Europe.

The case matters because it comes amid ongoing concern in Europe about sabotage, intimidation and other covert tactics tied to the war in Ukraine. Al Jazeera’s report places the incident within that broader security context, though the exact operational details of the arson and any legal process were not included in the published text.