Russian servicemen involved in the country's military action in Ukraine, march on the Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow, on May 9, 2024.Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images

Estonia wants Europe to shut the door on Putin’s ex-fighters – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

TALLINN — Estonia is preparing to fend off Russian soldiers, even after the fighting in Ukraine is over.

The small Baltic nation has blocked some 1,300 Russian ex-combatants from entering the country this year, according to its foreign ministry. Now it’s pushing Brussels to ban former Russian soldiers from entering the EU, and to keep them out long after the guns have fallen silent.

“You cannot allow these people who are committing the crimes, who are raping the women, who are killing the children and civilians on the battlefield, that we allow these people to come to Europe,” Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told POLITICO.