Estonia probes Russian link in suspected arson at military robot maker supplying Ukraine
A Tallinn blaze hit premises used by the maker of THeMIS ground robots, which Ukraine uses for evacuation, resupply, and mine clearance.
Estonia is probing a possible Russian involvement in a suspected arson attack at a building housing Milrem Robotics, a defense contractor that supplies unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine. Prime Minister Kristina Michal announced the investigation on August 18th, but no evidence linking Moscow to the blaze has been released yet.
The fire occurred overnight on August 15th at a facility that produces vehicles like the THeMIS, which have been deployed in Ukraine since 2022. Estonia's investigation follows a series of suspected or confirmed arson attacks on European factories supporting Ukraine. In March, a Czech factory owned by LPP Holding, which had shipped drones to Ukraine, suffered a fire that police linked to terrorism and detained a suspect.
In January, Lithuania charged six individuals for attempting to burn a factory supplying radio-wave scanners to Ukraine, with Russian intelligence allegedly behind the operation. In Estonia, the security service has previously traced attacks to Russian intelligence, including a 2024 incident where Russian-linked operatives damaged cars belonging to a government official and defaced monuments.
In 2025, Estonian courts found a Moldovan working for the GRU responsible for burning a supermarket and later a Ukrainian restaurant in Tallinn. These cases have prompted Estonian authorities to examine the Milrem fire, though they cannot confirm the cause.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
