Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has warned that sabotage operations orchestrated by Russian special services have reached a new and dangerous phase in Europe, with targets no longer purely symbolic. According to Tsahkna, the number of attacks is rising, and they are aimed at Europe as a whole rather than mainly at the Baltic states.

Estonia attributes attack to Russian services

Tsahkna said Estonia had, three weeks before his interview, attributed one serious attack against its defence industry company to the Russian secret services. "We just attributed, three weeks ago, one serious attack against our defence industry company organised by the Russian secret services," he said.

He added that the three suspects in that attack were caught and are now in prison.

A broad set of pressure tools

The pressure Russia applies to Europe takes many forms, Tsahkna said, all of them aimed at dividing unity and societies:

• •terror attacks
• •sabotage attacks
• •cyberattacks
• •any kind of disinformation

The Estonian counterintelligence service has similarly warned that targets are no longer purely symbolic, and Tsahkna stressed that the attacks are directed against Europe as a whole.

From border troops to NATO plans

Tsahkna, who served as Estonia's defence minister in 2016-2017, recalled that during his tenure there were permanently 120,000 Russian troops on the other side of the border, very close, ready to go within 48 hours. Those troops, he said, were sent to Ukraine and no longer exist.

Today, he said, French troops are located in Estonia and are 100 percent integrated with Estonian troops, and NATO has very solid regional defence plans.

Keeping Europe united

The main concern now, Tsahkna said, is to keep all of Europe united, noting that Vladimir Putin is testing how united Europe is and how it responds. He warned that Europe cannot let itself be dragged into the mediating position that Putin really wants, which would mean stopping sanctions or returning frozen assets to Russia.

He pointed to a meeting just held in Oslo, together with the US representative, President Zelensky and the Nordic presidents and prime ministers, including the Norwegian prime minister.

Looking ahead, Tsahkna noted that elections are coming next year in France that are so important for Europe, and said using violence is not a solution.

Within Estonia itself, he said the country pays attention to keeping society united and avoiding radicalisation. "Divisions in society are making you weaker as a country and as a nation," he said.

Tsahkna's message closed where it began: with Putin testing Europe's unity, the priority for Estonia and its allies is to hold together, at home as well as across the continent.