Europe faces threat of organised sabotage, terrorist attacks: Estonian FM Tsahkna

Hybrid warfare is a broad campaign that uses several tools at once without relying only on conventional military force. It can target security, businesses, digital systems, and public trust. Its purpose is to weaken an opponent and make collective action harder.

In the article, Tsahkna links Russian operations to terrorist attacks, sabotage against defence companies, cyberattacks, and disinformation. Sabotage can damage physical targets. Cyberattacks can disrupt networks. Disinformation can confuse people and deepen political divisions. Together, these actions create pressure across different parts of society.

Estonia says the danger is growing across Europe. Tsahkna reports that attacks are increasing and that Russia is testing how united European countries remain. The threat therefore extends beyond battlefield strength. European governments must protect infrastructure and digital systems while resisting efforts to divide their societies.

Estonia says Russian special services have organized several forms of hostile activity in Europe. These include terrorist attacks, sabotage attacks against defence industry companies, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns. Tsahkna says the number of such incidents is increasing, making them a wider European security concern rather than isolated events.

He describes one serious attack on an Estonian defence industry company. Estonia attributed the operation to Russian secret services three weeks before the interview. Authorities caught three men connected with the attack. Tsahkna says all three were in prison when he spoke.

The reported arrests show how Estonia is responding to these operations through investigation and detention. However, Tsahkna presents the incident as part of a larger pattern. He warns that Russian pressure is spreading across Europe and includes both physical attacks and efforts to undermine social unity.

When Tsahkna served as Estonia’s defence minister in 2016–2017, he says Russia kept 120,000 troops permanently on the other side of Estonia’s borders. They were close enough to be ready to move within 48 hours. This gave Estonia a large and immediate military threat to monitor.

Tsahkna contrasts that earlier situation with Russia’s current military position. He says the troops were sent to Ukraine and that they “are not existing anymore.” He adds that they are dead. His statement connects Russia’s losses in Ukraine with a reduced conventional threat near the Baltic region.

This does not mean Estonia sees no danger. Tsahkna says the main concern has shifted toward hybrid attacks and European unity. Estonia believes NATO’s military presence and defence plans address the conventional threat, while sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation create a different challenge.

Estonia believes the operations target Europe broadly because Russia’s pressure is not limited to the Baltic states. Tsahkna says the Baltics are not at the top of the list. Instead, he describes a campaign affecting European countries through terror attacks, sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation.

The key mechanism is division. Disinformation seeks to split societies, while attacks can create fear and political pressure. Tsahkna says Russian President Vladimir Putin is carefully watching how Europe acts, how united it remains, and how it responds. The operations therefore test political coordination as well as physical security.

This wider focus changes the scale of the problem. Estonia is not presenting itself only as a frontline target. It is warning that European countries share a common vulnerability. Tsahkna argues that maintaining unity is central to resisting Russian pressure and preventing individual countries from being isolated.

If sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation deepen divisions, European countries could become less able to act together. Tsahkna says divided societies are weaker as countries and nations. He also warns about radicalisation, showing that the danger is political and social as well as physical.

The mechanism is cumulative. Sabotage can create fear and economic disruption. Cyberattacks can undermine confidence in essential systems. Disinformation can distort debate and turn groups against one another. These pressures may make governments argue internally instead of responding collectively to external threats.

Tsahkna says Putin is testing Europe’s unity, actions, and responses. If European countries remain coordinated, they can present a stronger defence and maintain pressure on Russia. If divisions grow, Europe could find it harder to protect its security, sustain common policies, and resist further attempts to weaken its societies.

NATO protects Estonia through forward-deployed troops, integration with national forces, and regional defence planning. Tsahkna says French troops are located in Estonia and are 100 percent integrated with Estonian troops. He also says NATO has very solid regional defence plans. These arrangements are intended to deter or respond to a conventional military attack.

Tsahkna separates this military protection from hybrid threats. He says Estonia knows what to do at the military level and that NATO capabilities address the main conventional concern. Sabotage, cyberattacks, terrorism, and disinformation operate differently. They can happen below the threshold of open war and target companies, networks, and public trust.

For Tsahkna, hybrid attacks are now the main concern. They require unity, resilience, investigation, and resistance to disinformation, not only troops and defence plans. NATO’s military presence remains important, but it cannot by itself prevent every covert operation or social division.

Sanctions are restrictions imposed to pressure a country or its institutions, while frozen assets are funds or property prevented from being moved or used. These general meanings are not explained in detail in the article, but Tsahkna places both within Europe’s response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Tsahkna says Europe must not become a neutral mediator between Ukraine and Russia. He specifically rejects a position in which Europe would stop its sanctions or return frozen assets to Russia. Keeping these measures in place maintains pressure and signals continued support for Ukraine during ceasefire discussions.

Ending sanctions or returning assets could therefore reduce Europe’s leverage and blur its political position. Tsahkna wants Europe involved in the process, but not acting as an impartial arbiter. His distinction means Europe can support negotiations while preserving measures intended to pressure Russia and back Ukraine.