Record number of Russian agents detained in Estonia in 2025

Iryna Kutielieva, Oleksandr Shumilin — 13 April, 19:43

Russian and Estonian flags. Photo: Getty Images

In 2025, Estonia's Internal Security Service detained a record number of individuals who had cooperated with Russian intelligence services.

Source: Marta Tuul, spokeswoman for the Estonian Internal Security Service, as cited by Estonian public broadcaster ERR and reported by European Pravda

Details: Sixteen people with links to Russian intelligence services were detained last year.

Quote from Tuul: "Since Russian intelligence services cannot operate on Estonian territory, they are looking for other options. They are seeking so-called easier agents who would carry out certain tasks on their behalf. But this record year shows that they are not succeeding. Our officials are very capable and catch them fairly quickly, so there is no need for concern at all."

Details: Tuul also described how recruitment methods via social media have changed.

"On social media, they try to find one-off agents who would carry out acts of vandalism, for example, to destroy or deface the Blue Hills (Sinimäed) memorials or do other things," she said.

Travelling to Russia poses a significant risk, as agents operate at border crossings, profiling individuals and sometimes suggesting cooperation even at the checkpoints, the spokeswoman noted.

Estonia has taken significant steps to counter Russia's malign influence activities, including shutting down several propaganda outlets such as Baltnews and Sputnik. As a result, Russian influence operations have increasingly shifted to social media.

Quote from Tuul: "This is where attempts are made to create false narratives, as we saw over the past year. For example, bomb threats against schools or an alleged attack on Narva. There is absolutely no real support or following for this in Estonia. They may try, but there is no basis or real substance to it."

Background:

In March, Estonia's Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) deported Russian citizen Kirill Kudryavtsev at the request of the Internal Security Service for his contact with Russian intelligence services.
On 11 February, Russian citizen Andrei Zhuravlyov was deported from Estonia on suspicion of planned intelligence gathering.
In January, Estonia also deported Russian citizen David Arutyunyan, who was considered a threat to national security.

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