Russia has put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on a wanted list “for the destruction and damage of monuments to Soviet soldiers,” according to Russian news outlets.
Estonia’s State Secretary Taimar Peterkop and Lithuania’s Culture Minister Simonas Kairys are also on the list, Russia’s independent outlet Mediazona found out. Mediazona collated all 96,000 wanted notices from a database on the Ministry of Internal Affairs website.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kaja Kallas wrote, “Russia’s move is nothing surprising,” adding, “This is yet more proof that I am doing the right thing — the EU’s strong support to Ukraine is a success, and it hurts Russia.”
EU leaders including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and EU Council President, Charles Michel also used the site to rush to her defense.
“Putin’s move is another proof of your courage and Estonia’s leadership in defending democracy and freedom,” wrote Sánchez, adding: “The Spanish people and Europe stand behind you.”
Kallas is a fierce critic of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and has urged EU countries to continue supporting Kyiv “to send a message to Russia that you can’t win, and they can’t bend the will of Ukrainians either.’’
In 2022, the Estonian government decided to remove war monuments dating from Soviet times in the eastern city of Narva.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel that the Estonians were added to the list “for crimes against the memory of those who liberated the world from Nazism and fascism,” adding, “There must be accountability! And this is just the beginning.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on a conference call Tuesday: “These are people who are responsible for decisions that are essentially a desecration of historical memory. These are the people who undertake hostile actions both against historical memory and against our country.”
According to Russian news outlet Mediazona, 59 Latvian members of parliament are “wanted” in Russia.
This story was updated to reflect the original source of the research.
Sergey Goryashko contributed to this article.