Germany Closes Russian Consulate After Leipzig Drone Incident
Estonia's security service says Russia orchestrated last month's arson attack on a robotics firm supplying Ukraine, a charge the Kremlin dismisses as baseless, amid a widening pattern of alleged Russian sabotage across Europe.
The Kremlin has denied accusations that it was behind a fire that broke out at a military robotics plant in Estonia last month, as Tallinn became the latest European capital to point the finger at Moscow over suspected sabotage on its soil.
Estonia's Internal Security Service, known as KAPO, claimed on Tuesday that Russia orchestrated an arson attack on 15 August against Milrem Robotics, a company that supplies unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine. "The modus operandi of the Milrem attack is consistent with other acts of sabotage carried out in Europe on behalf of Russia," KAPO said in a statement, adding that "these activities are intended to undermine support for Ukraine".
The service did not disclose its evidence, citing the confidentiality of security services, but said the incident "demonstrates the continued need for industries... to maintain robust physical and cyber security measures". Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, later told reporters that Estonia's accusations were false. "Such statements are baseless, ill-considered, bear no relation whatsoever to reality and lack any form of reasoning," he said during a daily briefing. "Consequently, we cannot and will not take such statements seriously."
A growing number of European countries have accused Russian security services of carrying out acts of sabotage across the continent in recent years. This month, Germany said Russia was behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August. In response, Berlin ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian cultural centre in the capital.
The Milrem case adds to a pattern that Western governments say forms part of Moscow's wider campaign to disrupt European support for Ukraine, which has endured Russia's unprovoked invasion since the full-scale assault began. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression and the sabotage operations attributed to the Kremlin across Europe.