Estonia sentences serviceman caught spying for Russia
Photo: A serviceman was sentenced to almost five years in prison for spying for Russia (flickr by Shane MacClure)
Estonia has sentenced a member of its voluntary defense organization who spied for Russia to nearly five years in prison, Bloomberg reports.
The trial of Ivan Dmitrijev, an Estonian citizen, took place after he was caught passing information about the military presence near the country's borders with Russia.
He operated drones for Estonia's Defense League and, before his arrest in early 2025, spent two months working for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). He later "reached a settlement with the authorities."
"Dmitrijev's activity could have been extremely detrimental to Estonian security in the future," the Estonian prosecutor’s office emphasized.
The agency notes that Dmitrijev directly participated in military exercises aimed at repelling possible Russian aggression.
It is worth noting that Russian diplomats will face stricter movement restrictions within the EU due to espionage risks.
Under the proposed rules, Russian diplomats working in EU capitals must notify other governments of their travel plans before crossing the border of the host country.
Earlier, Austria uncovered a Russian spy network aimed at discrediting Ukraine.
Additionally, the UK exposed a Russian espionage operation targeting Bellingcat investigative journalist Christo Grozev.
For more details on how Russia expanded its agent network after the war began, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.
