NATO chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday urged allied countries to stay "calm, carry on and support Ukraine" in the face of what he called Russia's campaign of sabotage across Europe, hours after Estonia formally accused Moscow of ordering an August arson attack on a defence company.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Brussels with Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius, Rutte said Russia's hostile campaign was aimed at weakening Western resolve. "Russia continues its reckless campaign of hostile actions against NATO allies. It is trying to weaken our resolve and stop our support for Ukraine. But Russia is failing," he said, adding that Moscow was "failing on the battlefield in Ukraine and it is failing to undermine our unity and support for Ukraine."
Estonia's accusation
Earlier in the day, Estonia became the latest European country to formally blame Moscow for an attack on its soil. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said investigators had concluded that the August 15 arson attack on Milrem Robotics — an Estonian company that makes ground drones used by Ukraine — was sabotage ordered by Russia's intelligence agencies.
"We can conclude with certainty that the arson attack... was an act of sabotage ordered by the special services of the Russian Federation," Tsahkna wrote on X. He said the perpetrators had been arrested and that Russia's ambassador to Estonia had been summoned over the incident.
Kremlin denies involvement
The Kremlin rejected the accusation. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the claim "baseless" and "with absolutely no relation to reality," telling AFP: "We cannot and will not take such statements seriously."
Allied response
The European Union stood with Estonia. A European Commission spokesman, Christian Wigand, described the attack as "reckless" and said, "Moscow is trying to scare Europe into winding down its support for Ukraine. This will not happen." French President Emmanuel Macron called it a "dangerous escalation," while Sweden's prime minister described the attribution as "extremely serious" and "directed against Europe as a whole."
Rutte conceded that the sabotage campaign "can have an impact – and sometimes they have an impact, clearly," but said NATO had response options at its disposal, "sometimes visible, sometimes not." Sinkevicius said Lithuanian intelligence had "no proof Moscow was imminently prepping for something bigger," describing the threat level as "not fluctuating..., not increasing or decreasing."
The case comes as European governments accuse Moscow of escalating covert attacks against Ukraine's backers, more than four years after Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Sources: NATO urges calm, says Russian hybrid campaign not stopping Ukraine support | NATO, EU allies rally to Estonia after 'sabotage' blamed on Russia
Speaking at a joint press conference in Brussels with Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius, Rutte said Russia's hostile campaign was aimed at weakening Western resolve. "Russia continues its reckless campaign of hostile actions against NATO allies. It is trying to weaken our resolve and stop our support for Ukraine. But Russia is failing," he said, adding that Moscow was "failing on the battlefield in Ukraine and it is failing to undermine our unity and support for Ukraine."
Estonia's accusation
Earlier in the day, Estonia became the latest European country to formally blame Moscow for an attack on its soil. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said investigators had concluded that the August 15 arson attack on Milrem Robotics — an Estonian company that makes ground drones used by Ukraine — was sabotage ordered by Russia's intelligence agencies.
"We can conclude with certainty that the arson attack... was an act of sabotage ordered by the special services of the Russian Federation," Tsahkna wrote on X. He said the perpetrators had been arrested and that Russia's ambassador to Estonia had been summoned over the incident.
Kremlin denies involvement
The Kremlin rejected the accusation. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the claim "baseless" and "with absolutely no relation to reality," telling AFP: "We cannot and will not take such statements seriously."
Allied response
The European Union stood with Estonia. A European Commission spokesman, Christian Wigand, described the attack as "reckless" and said, "Moscow is trying to scare Europe into winding down its support for Ukraine. This will not happen." French President Emmanuel Macron called it a "dangerous escalation," while Sweden's prime minister described the attribution as "extremely serious" and "directed against Europe as a whole."
Rutte conceded that the sabotage campaign "can have an impact – and sometimes they have an impact, clearly," but said NATO had response options at its disposal, "sometimes visible, sometimes not." Sinkevicius said Lithuanian intelligence had "no proof Moscow was imminently prepping for something bigger," describing the threat level as "not fluctuating..., not increasing or decreasing."
The case comes as European governments accuse Moscow of escalating covert attacks against Ukraine's backers, more than four years after Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Sources: NATO urges calm, says Russian hybrid campaign not stopping Ukraine support | NATO, EU allies rally to Estonia after 'sabotage' blamed on Russia
