Kaja Kallas: Russia seeks and captures Estonian Prime Minister and Lithuanian Culture Minister for «destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers»

Kaja Kallas: Russia seeks and captures Estonian Prime Minister and Lithuanian Culture Minister for «destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers»

Updated

Russia today declared Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas a «wanted» person in an undisclosed criminal case. The Interior Ministry’s wanted database showed Kallas, who has led the Estonian government since 2021, as «wanted under the criminal code», without specifying the charges. According to Efe, the Estonian State Secretary, Taimar Peterkop, was also declared wanted and captured.

Kallas was one of the most forceful voices in his rejection of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Estonia is the country that offers a largest percentage of its budget in the form of support to Kiev.

This was reported by sources cited by the Russian news agency TASS “A case has been opened against Kallas and Peterkop for destroying and damaging monuments to Soviet soldiers” in Estonia. Estonian authorities began dismantling various Soviet monuments in the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

Asked about the arrest warrant against Kallas, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zacharovastated that we must “respond to the crimes against the memory of the world’s liberators of Nazism and fascism».

As the press secretary of the Russian president made clear, Dimitri Peskovthe Interior Ministry’s decision was a response to what Russia considers attacks against historical memory in the Baltics, «actions hostile to both historical memory and our country».

Since the start of the large-scale invasion in 2022, the Estonian prime minister has spoken out strongly in favor of helping the Ukrainians and against a negotiation with Moscow. For Kallas the crucial issue in war is the sufficient quantity of ammunition.

According to the Estonian leader, one of the traps of this war is that «peace can be negotiated». «If we accept land grabs, Russia’s needs will be satisfied. “It’s not true that suddenly everything is quiet,” Kallas said in an interview with the Austrian newspaper The standard.

«We in Estonia, after the end of the Second World War, it is true that we did not have war, but we did not have peace either because there were deportations and a lot of repression», explained the Estonian prime minister. newspaper in an interview in 2023. «Russia wants us to believe that Ukraine cannot winso that we stop supporting it», Kallas repeated in recent months in the face of the impasse of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

On the other hand, Russia has also declared search and seizure in its territory Minister of Culture of Lithuaniaaccording to the database of the Ministry of the Interior.

The reason for the order is the destruction or damage of monuments dedicated to Soviet soldiers in the Baltic country, sources from the Russian security forces told TASS today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently assured that he has no intention of invading the Baltic republics and Poland, which are members of NATO. A public position similar to the one he maintained towards Ukraine until shortly before attacking it.