After becoming a target of Russia, Estonian PM will continue supporting Ukraine

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday (13) that the search and arrest warrant issued by Russia against her will not silence her and that she will remain firm in her support for Ukraine.

“Russia may believe that issuing a fictitious arrest warrant will silence Estonia. I refuse to be silenced: I will continue to openly support Ukraine and advocate strengthening European defenses,” Kallas said in a statement.

The Prime Minister maintained that the measure adopted today by the Russian Federation “is not at all surprising”, as it is a “familiar” tactic to try to generate fear.

“Estonia and I remain firm in our policy: supporting Ukraine, strengthening European defense and combating Russian propaganda,” Kallas said.

The governor also stressed that, throughout history, Moscow hid its repressive actions under the pretext of “law enforcement”.

“This sounds very familiar to me: my grandmother and mother were once deported to Siberia and (then) it was the KGB that issued fabricated arrest warrants,” he commented.

“I have always maintained that the Russian regime’s criminal toolbox has not changed. We refuse to be intimidated by Russia’s scare tactics,” added Kallas.

Moscow issued a search and arrest order on its territory against Kallas, as well as other high-ranking officials and deputies from Estonia and Lithuania, according to the Russian Interior Ministry database.

The reason for the order would be the destruction or damage caused to monuments to Soviet soldiers in the Baltic country, Russian security forces sources told the news agency today. TASS.

Commenting on the situation at a press conference this Tuesday (13), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the Baltic countries of “hostile actions against the historical memory” of Russia.

According to the digital newspaper Mediazonewho had access to the database, the specific reason in Kallas' case is the removal, in August 2022, of the Soviet T-34 tank from the city of Narva, on the border with Russia, along with other monuments.