Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Estonian PM Kaja Kallas

The Russian Interior Ministry issued a warrant for the arrest of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and other senior officials and deputies from Latvia and Lithuania.

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The reason for the warrant is the destruction or damage caused to monuments of Soviet soldiers in the Baltic country. In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the Baltic countries of "hostile actions against Russia's historical memory."

In Kallas's case, the arrest warrant is based on the removal in August 2022 of the Soviet T-34 tank and other monuments in the city of Narva. Later that year, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered an investigation into the matter.

During meetings of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), PM Kallas has repeatedly spoken in favor of supplying arms to Ukraine and tightening sanctions against Russia.

In January 2021, she became the first woman to lead the government of the Baltic country, a position she retained after her party won the legislative elections held in March 2023.

Russia also issued arrest warrants against Estonian Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop and Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys.

The list of arrest warrants also includes 59 out of 68 members of the Latvian Parliament for voting in favor of denouncing the treaty with Russia for the preservation of monuments.

Due to the dismantling of a Soviet monument in Riga, 15 municipal deputies from the Latvian capital were also included in the list, as were former ministers of Interior, Finance, Justice, and Agriculture.

In the case of Lithuania, a similar incident in the capital, Vilnius, led to warrants being issued for Kairys and six other municipal deputies. The same occurred in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, after which the mayor of the city and 24 officials and historians were included in the Russian Interior Ministry's list.

Arrest warrants also cover several Polish officials such as Walbrzych Mayor Roman Szelemej, and the Institute of National Remembrance president Karol Nawrocki.

"For crimes against the memory of those who liberated the world from Nazism and fascism, one must be held accountable! This is just the beginning!" commented Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

So far, Russia has initiated 16 criminal cases for the destruction, damage, and desecration of Soviet soldiers' monuments and graves in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.