Estonian Lawmakers Declare Russia 'Terrorist Regime' Over Ukraine Actions

Estonian lawmakers also supported stripping Russia of its permanent member status on the UN Security Council.

Estonian lawmakers have declared Russia a "terrorist regime" over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and moves it has made since, including the illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine and thinly veiled threats by President Vladimir Putin concerning the possible use of nuclear weapons.

Members of the Riigikogu, Estonia's parliament, voted 88-0, with three abstentions, on October 18 in favor of the declaration, which says the country "will never recognize the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine through aggression and sham referendums."

"The Riigikogu declares Russia a terrorist regime and the Russian Federation a country that supports terrorism, whose actions we must confront together. The Riigikogu calls on the international community to adopt similar declarations," a statement said.

"Putin's regime, with its threats of nuclear attack, has turned Russia into the biggest danger to peace both in Europe and in the whole world," it added.

The statement also declares as terrorist organizations Kremlin-backed separatists in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, as well as the Vagner private military group, which has been operating in Ukraine.

Estonian lawmakers also supported stripping Russia of its permanent member status on the UN Security Council, and called on European Union states to impose more sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus over Moscow's war against Ukraine.

"Estonia supports the people, the state, and the army of Ukraine with all the means available and believes in the victory of Ukraine as this is the only way to restore peace in Europe," the statement said, calling on the EU to provide more support, including military assistance, to Kyiv.

Earlier in August, lawmakers in another Baltic state, Latvia, designated Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, its military activities in Syria, and several high-profile cases of poisoning of Kremlin critics.

The Kremlin has denied involvement in any of the poisoning cases.