In Estonia, the arsonists of the "Slava Ukraini" restaurant, who acted on the orders of the Russian Federation, were convicted.

A Tallinn court has found two Moldovan citizens guilty of arson at the local restaurant "Slava Ukraini" on the orders of Russian intelligence services. This was reported by ERR.

The investigation established that since 2023, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia has been systematically preparing and organizing provocations and sabotage operations in the territory of the Baltic countries.

For this purpose, Russian military intelligence recruited one of the defendants in the case, a citizen of Moldova. After completing several tasks for the GRU, in January of this year he was tasked with setting fire to the "Slava Ukraini" restaurant in Tallinn.

According to the investigation, the target was not chosen by chance, as the restaurant's name and its openly pro-Ukrainian stance made the establishment an important symbolic target in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia thus intended to intimidate the residents of Estonia and destabilize the situation.

To carry out the operation, the recruited individual involved an acquaintance, also a citizen of Moldova, who lived in Poland. According to the investigation, the accomplice was unaware of the real perpetrators of the arson.

On the night of January 31, the convicts committed arson, and were detained in Italy 12 days later. Both defendants were awaiting sentencing in custody.

The arson organizer was found guilty of espionage and carrying out sabotage attacks on behalf of the GRU. He was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. His accomplice was found guilty of property damage and received six months in prison.

• On June 11, it was reported that an Estonian court found Svetlana Burцева, a resident of Tallinn, guilty of treason and violation of international sanctions, and sentenced her to six years imprisonment.