A fire at a defense technology company in Estonia that supplies Ukraine was a “deliberate and preplanned” attack commissioned by Russia’s security services, Estonia’s national security agency said on Tuesday.
The Estonian Internal Security Service, known as KAPO, said that an investigation had found that the fire at the company, Milrem Robotics, in August, was “directly attributable to the Russian Federation.”
In recent weeks, European governments have spoken openly and urgently about a shadow war waged by Russia. They have warned that the Kremlin is using hybrid attacks to sow fear and panic in countries supporting Ukraine as it defends itself against the invasion that Russia launched in 2022.
Milrem Robotics makes unmanned ground vehicles — tracked and wheeled machines that can deliver supplies, haul ammunition, evacuate the wounded and lay mines. The fire in August, at a building used by Milrem Robotics in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, did not damage its supplies to Ukraine, its chief executive told Reuters at the time.
Prime Minister Kristen Michal of Estonia said on social media shortly after the incident that it was being investigated as an act of sabotage with Russia’s involvement.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, denied Estonia’s claim that Russia was responsible for the attack, saying that “such statements are unsubstantiated and ill-considered.”
Several suspects were arrested shortly after the fire and remain in custody as the investigation continues.
The fire at Milrem was consistent with other attacks carried out in Europe on behalf of Russia, Margo Palloson, the director general of Estonia’s national security agency, said in the statement on Tuesday, though he did not provide specific evidence. Defense companies, especially those that produce and supply drone technology to Ukraine, are a common target, he noted.
In May, police in Lithuania arrested nine people accused of plotting murders and sabotage across Europe at the behest of Russia’s military intelligence service, including by setting fire to military equipment in Bulgaria destined for Ukraine, and by surveilling Greek military installations.
More recently, German investigators concluded that Russian operatives had sent a drone equipped with military-grade explosives to an airport near Leipzig, and a Russian drone smashed into a passenger train in western Ukraine, very close to the Polish border, in what was widely seen as a warning to Ukraine’s allies.
“Russia continues to seek opportunities to conduct acts of sabotage and other hostile activities across Europe,” Mr. Palloson said in the statement. These attacks, he said, “are intended to undermine support for Ukraine among European allies and to support Russia’s ongoing military aggression against Ukraine.”
European leaders expressed support for Estonia. President Emmanuel Macron of France said an increase in hybrid attacks reflected “a dangerous escalation” on Moscow’s part.
“Russia must know that it will not prevail against our unity nor our determination to continue supporting Ukraine,” Mr. Macron said on social media.
Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said on Tuesday that his office would summon Russian diplomats in the country.
Estonia, a former Soviet state that borders Russia, has for years worried about Russian aggression. Estonia’s security services have arrested more than 20 people involved in attacks on behalf of Russia since the war in Ukraine began, according to KAPO. Russia’s threat to Estonia will remain high in the coming years, the agency said.
