Estonian authorities are claiming to have stopped a plot among pro-Moscow politicians working in collision with Russian military intelligence to build a pro-Russian militant group to overthrow the government. State Prosecutor Triinu Olev-Aas alleges Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency was behind the operation.
Estonia says Russia-backed armed group aimed to overthrow gov’t – TVP World
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Estonian authorities say they have uncovered a plot in which local pro-Moscow politicians allegedly collaborated with Russian military intelligence to create a paramilitary unit aimed at toppling the government in Tallinn.
State Prosecutor Triinu Olev-Aas said the plot involved Aivo Peterson, a leader of Estonia’s pro-Kremlin Russian minority party Koos (Together), alongside other party figures such as Eduard Fedotov and Julia Smoli.The three, together with another suspect named Dmitri Rootsi, allegedly began organizing a civil defense unit in 2022 structured to mirror the Estonian military.
According to Olev-Aas, the operation was backed by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, which has come under increased European scrutiny since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.