Estonia recognizes Russia as a terrorist state

Yesterday, the Parliament of Estonia – Riigikogu – adopted a statement, “condemning the annexation of the territory of Ukraine and declaring the Russian regime terrorist,” according to a press release on its official site.

“Supporting the appeal of the Ukrainian Parliament to countries and international organizations, the Riigikogu declares the Russian regime a terrorist state and the Russian Federation a state that supports terrorism, whose activities must be jointly opposed. The Riigikogu calls on the international community to adopt similar declarations,” the statement reads.

An overwhelming majority of Estonian lawmakers – 88 of 101 – supported the statement. Thus, Estonia has become the third country, after Lithuania and Latvia, to declare Russia a terrorist regime. On Oct. 13, a similar resolution was passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

According to the press release, the “Riigikogu strongly condemns the military activities of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the illegal annexation of the territory conquered during the aggression, and confirms that Estonia will never recognize the destruction of Ukraine’s territorial integrity as a result of aggression and false referendums.”

UWC welcomes the statement of the Estonian Parliament and people and thanks them for their unwavering support of Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggressor. We call upon other nations throughout the world to follow the example of the Baltic countries and PACE and declare the Russian regime as terrorist.

More good news from #Estonia. Today, the 🇪🇪 parliament declared RU a terrorist state. EE became the third country after LV and LT to officially do so. We thank the Baltic nations for their strong support for UA and call on other countries to follow their example! #StopPutinNOW pic.twitter.com/lHhouUmiew

— Ukrainian World Congress 🇺🇦 (@UWCongress) October 18, 2022

“Russia’s brutality against the Ukrainian people has gone far beyond the very concept of terrorism. Russia brings death, grief and suffering to millions only to satisfy the sick imperialistic ambitions of its leadership. It is clearly a terrorist state and pure evil. Moscow must be punished by the most powerful and far-reaching sanctions,” UWC President Paul Grod stated earlier.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, UWC has been consistently calling on all democratic governments and the international community to recognize Russia as a terrorist state. Millions of Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine demand such recognition at rallies and in appeals to the governments in their countries of residence.