Russian authorities declared Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas a wanted person on February 13, according to AFP. The Russian Interior Ministry's wanted persons database shows Kallas is wanted under Criminal Law but does not specify the charges.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kalas
In addition to the Estonian Prime Minister, Estonian State Secretary Taimar Peterkop and Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Lairys have also been added to Russia's wanted list. TASS, citing sources, revealed that these individuals are accused of "damaging monuments honoring Soviet soldiers."
At a press conference that same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Prime Minister Kallas and other Baltic politicians were wanted for hostile acts against Russia and "insulting historical memory."
Estonia and Lithuania have not immediately commented on this information.
The White House and allies criticized Trump's "destabilizing" comments about NATO.
Relations between Russia and Estonia, which has a significant Russian community, have remained strained since the end of the Cold War. Russia has frequently reacted to Estonia's, a former Soviet republic, dismantling war memorials, according to AFP.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has led the Estonian government since 2021. She is one of the European politicians who strongly supports Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
In a recent interview with the Austrian newspaper Der Standard , Kallas said that Ukraine's war will continue until Russia realizes it cannot win. The leader argued that the West needs to continue supporting Ukraine and providing it with everything it needs.
Specifically, when commenting on the question of whether 2024 would be the decisive year for Ukraine's fate, the Prime Minister said: "The war continues. We should not fall into the traps that have been set. It would be a mistake to believe that the war can end quickly. Russia is preparing for a long war. It will last until Russia realizes that they cannot win."
In a security report dated February 13, Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Agency stated that Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the West within the next decade, and that this can only be prevented by building up its armed forces to counter it, according to Reuters.
Kaupo Rosin, the head of the agency, said the assessment was based on Russia's plan to double its troop numbers along its borders with NATO members such as Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.
NATO underestimated Russia's military machine.
The official added that the likelihood of a Russian military attack in the short term is low, but if NATO is unprepared, that possibility would increase significantly.
Rosin noted that Russia's ability to supply ammunition to its soldiers remains superior to Ukraine's, and Kyiv is unlikely to change the battlefield situation without Western support. However, he predicted no breakthrough by Moscow in Ukraine before the Russian presidential election in March.
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