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Nato must be ready for Russia launching an “existential” war against the Baltic states “masked by a blizzard of disinformation”, ambassadors from the three countries have warned. Writing exclusively for The Sunday Telegraph, the top diplomats to the UK from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said that Russia could “pivot quickly” from Ukraine to invade the Baltic. And they said that Vladimir Putin’s brutalisation of Ukraine is evoking the three countries’ “darkest memories” of occupation under Stalin. The Estonian ambassador Viljar Lubi, the Latvian ambassador Ivita Burmistre, and Lithuania’s charge d’affaire Lina Zigmantaite, wrote the joint article to mark Friday’s 20...

Soviet spy Helene (“Leen”) Kullman was shot by the Germans on this date in 1943 … or was she? Kullman (English Wikipedia entry | the much more detailed Estonian) was just out of teaching school when the Germans occupied Estonia. She joined the Red Army and was eventually trained as an intelligence agent, infiltrated by parachute behind German lines in September 1942, and arrested by the Gestapo in January 1943. This is where things get interesting. According to the Soviet hagiography that resulted in her decoration as a Hero of the Soviet Union in 1965, Kullman defied her torturers and...

MOSCOW/VILNIUS, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Russian police have put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuania's culture minister, and members of the previous Latvian parliament on a wanted list for destroying Soviet-era monuments, according to the Russian interior ministry's database. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kallas was wanted for the "desecration of historical memory". Russian state agency TASS said the Baltic officials were accused of "destroying monuments to Soviet soldiers", acts that are punishable by a five-year prison term under the Russian criminal code. *snip* The Baltic governments regard the monuments as propaganda tools constructed by their former imperial overlords. "The...

Estonia’s domestic security agency said on Tuesday that it had apprehended 10 people suspected of sabotage and of spreading fear and creating tension within the Baltic country in a coordinated "hybrid operation" by Russia’s special services. Among the suspects — detained between December and February — are individuals believed to have broken the car windows of Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets and a local journalist in December, the Estonian Internal Security Service said. "The information currently collected in criminal proceedings indicate that the Russian special service had coordinated a hybrid operation against the security of the Republic of Estonia, involving the...

Russian forces are likely planning to double their forces on borders with members of the Western security alliance NATO, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service said in a new report. The report says that Russia is planning to create a new corps, which can include up to 45,000 troops, at NATO’s borders in northern Europe. As of 2022, Russia had about 19,000 troops at the northern border. The 44th Army Corps would likely be based in the northwestern Russian city of Petrozavodsk near the border with Finland, according to the report. The Estonian intelligence assessment said the new Russian unit would...

Why would Russia want to attack the West? What purpose could it serve? The only explanation is comic book evil. That is the logic of the entire American Empire: everything is a comic book. If they even art doing a troop buildup – and they’re not – they would be doing it defensively because NATO is constantly issuing all these threats. The head of NATO recently announced he is planning a decades-long war with Russia.

Russian police have put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuania's culture minister and members of the previous Latvian parliament on a wanted list, according to the Russian Interior Ministry's database. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kallas was wanted for the "desecration of historical memory". Russian state agency TASS said the Baltic officials were accused of "destroying monuments to Soviet soldiers", acts that are punishable by a 5-year prison term under the Russian criminal code. -snip- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "This is only the beginning." "Crimes against the memory of the world's liberators from Nazism and fascism must...

Moscow has put the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, and other Baltic states officials on a wanted list, as Tallinn warns of an imminent Russian military buildup along its border. The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Estonian state secretary, Taimar Peterkop, the Lithuanian culture minister, Simonas Kairys, and Kallas were accused of “destroying monuments to Soviet soldiers”, a reference to the removal of Soviet-era second world war memorials “This is only the start,” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel. “Crimes against the memory of the world’s liberators from nazism and fascism must be prosecuted.” Russian authorities have...

On 22 November, 11 Members of the Estonian Parliament wrote a letter to the World Health Organisation (“WHO”) to reject the proposed international agreement on pandemic prevention preparedness and response – also known as the “Pandemic Treaty” or “Pandemic Accord”. The letter also rejects the amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (“IHR”). Last month we published an article explaining that in May 2022 the World Health Assembly (“WHA”) quietly agreed to reduce the period during which nations have to opt out of future amendments to the International Health Regulations. For nations to retain the longer 18-month period previously allowed...

HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Finland will erect barriers at four crossings on its border with Russia from midnight, officials said on Friday, in a bid to stem an increase in migrants that Helsinki says has been orchestrated by Moscow. Finland has accused Russian authorities of funnelling migrants to the crossings in retaliation for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, an assertion dismissed by the Kremlin. Barriers will go up at four of the nine crossings with Russia, at Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala in its southeast, the Finnish Border Guard said. "Our aim is to...

In the early hours of Thursday, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Estonia launched a pointed accusation against Russia, alleging a failure to detain illegal migrants at its borders. The incident sparking this contention involved eight Somali citizens attempting to circumnavigate immigration control, attempting to enter Estonia via Narva. Geopolitical Tensions Highlighted This incident brings to light the ongoing concerns around border security and immigration control, issues that hold significant weight for Estonia, given its geographical location and strained political relations with Russia. The accusation by the Estonian official not only underscores these concerns but also spotlights the intricate complexities...

The three incidents that resulted in damage to a gas pipeline and two telecom cables between Estonia, Finland and Sweden "are related", Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. Finland on Friday said it had raised its risk assessment for gas supply security as a result of the damage to the Balticconnector Finland-Estonia pipeline, which operator Gasgrid has said could be out of commission until April or longer. "An important gas import connection will be out of use during the winter season 2023/2024 for at least five months," the Finnish National Emergency Supply Agency said in a statement. The risk level...

FOLLOWING a recent report that the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was reportedly sabotaged, news of a man who was observed photographing Finland’s Electrical network have further fuelled suspicions. A report by YLE has recounted sightings of unusual activity near electrical infrastructure which have raised concerns across Finland. The incident in question occurred in Savona, where an unidentified individual parked a car with Norwegian license plates near a power line in Juva, Etela-Savo. This person took a photo of a 110-kilovolt corner pole belonging to Jarvi-Suomen Energia, a local energy company. The situation left company CEOs baffled as to...

What is the US aircraft carrier doing in Israel? It will start to carry out serious massacres there by striking, destroying Gaza"...The comments of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan... A plane carrying ammunition from the United States arrived in Israel tonight... Tonight rocket fire aimed at Israel from Syria... Meanwhile the Russian military in Syria says that there were only three US coalition air space violations in Syria's Al-Tanf today... The United States determining that the new military government in Niger since July is the result of a military coup. This means a permanent cutoff of 200 million dollars... Tensions...

A subsea gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea have been damaged in what may have been a deliberate act, the Finnish government said on Tuesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO was sharing its information over the damage and stands ready to support the allies concerned. Finland joined the military alliance in April, while Estonia has been a member since 2004. The Balticconnector gas pipeline was shut early on Sunday on concerns that gas was leaking from a hole in the 77-km (48-mile) pipeline. Finnish operator Gasgrid said it could take...

An arrowhead likely comprised of material from a meteorite was discovered in Switzerland by a team of archaeologists and geologists, according to a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. The team determined that the arrowhead was made of an iron-nickel-aluminium alloy using electron-microscope images, X-rays, and high-energy radiation analysis. The results were then compared with other known meteorite samples. A bracelet and an ax head from Poland are the only two known archaeological artifacts in central and western Europe made from meteorite material. Related Articles A sculpture of a woman's head sticking out of mud. Statuary Heads of...

Estonia’s parliament passed on Tuesday a law legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming the first ex-Soviet country to do so. Two adults will be able to marry “regardless of their gender,” after the parliament approved amendments to the country’s Family Law Act, according to a press statement. The amended act will go into effect from January 1, 2024. The amendments to the Family Law Act also mean that same-sex couples can now adopt children. In Estonia, only a married couple can adopt a child, although single gay, lesbian and bisexual people can also petition to adopt. “Everyone should have the right to...

Ukraine's ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, called out the Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye's statement denying sovereignty to post-Soviet countries, including Ukraine. Omelchenko wrote on Twitter on April 22 that there were "obvious problems with geography" and that Shaye's statement contradicted China's official position "on efforts to restore peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter."

An explosive report has blown the lid off a NATO nation's 'sham' support for Ukraine. Estonia, a NATO member, is allegedly using European Peace Facility (EPF) funds to renew its own weapons while sending old stocks to Kyiv, according to a Politico report. The European Peace Facility (EPF) fund is intended to partially reimburse countries that have sent military aid to Ukraine but is now reportedly being exploited. According to seven EU diplomats quoted in the report, Estonia is sending its scraps to Ukraine and buying brand new material for itself, financed with EU money. The report, however, is set...

NICOSIA – Nearly a half-century after Turkish invasions seized the northern third of the island – where it keeps some 35,000 troops still – Cyprus’ new President Nicos Christoulides said more will be spent on defense. He said that 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of 26.42 billion euros ($28.41 billion) – about 52.8 million euros ($56.77 million) would be spent on the Armed Forces in different areas. That comes as the United States is lifting a decades-long arms embargo that held down Cypriot defense while Turkey was buying American arms without conditions and has a huge military advantage...