According to a ruling by the Harju County Court in Estonia, two related Moldovan men named Ivan Chihaial carried out arson attacks on behalf of Russia's military intelligence (GRU). In January 2024, the first Chihaial conducted a test arson attack on a co-op supermarket in Osula, southeastern Estonia, and was then tasked to set fire to the Slava Ukraini restaurant in Tallinn on the night of 31 January 2024. His cousin accompanied him but was unaware of Kremlin involvement. The perpetrators were apprehended in Italy after cross-border cooperation with Latvian, Lithuanian, and Polish authorities. The main perpetrator was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, with the accomplice receiving two and a half years. The court judged the attack as part of a broader Russian sabotage campaign designed to sow division in Western societies and undermine support for Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale invasion. Russian denial was issued by President Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who claimed no proof had been presented for such sabotage activities.

According to a ruling by the Harju County Court in Estonia, two related Moldovan men named Ivan Chihaial carried out arson attacks on behalf of Russia's military intelligence (GRU). In January 2024, the first Chihaial conducted a test arson attack on a co-op supermarket in Osula, southeastern Estonia, and was then tasked to set fire to the Slava Ukraini restaurant in Tallinn on the night of 31 January 2024. His cousin accompanied him but was unaware of Kremlin involvement. The perpetrators were apprehended in Italy after cross-border cooperation with Latvian, Lithuanian, and Polish authorities. The main perpetrator was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, with the accomplice receiving two and a half years. The court judged the attack as part of a broader Russian sabotage campaign designed to sow division in Western societies and undermine support for Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale invasion. Russian denial was issued by President Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who claimed no proof had been presented for such sabotage activities.