
Estonia’s judiciary swung its hammer and added a little flair by punishing a pro-Russian donor who later was ordered to give 30 percent more to Ukraine of what he had originally donated to the Kremlin’s war effort.
The Estonian Public Prosecutor’s Office has unveiled a creative new twist in its approach to punishing anyone who bankrolls Russian aggression: make them pay it forward, and that means, directly to Ukraine.
Back in 2022, one particularly ill-advised Estonian resident decided to send about $59 in cryptocurrency to the Russian military. Unfortunately for him, this was also the year that Estonia sharpened its Criminal Code to make supporting foreign aggression an actual crime.
Enter Vira Konyk, president of the Congress of Ukrainians of Estonia and a prominent NGO advocate. She hailed what happened next as a “smart, elegant” example of how justice can serve both principle and practicality.
After the Estonian Security Police completed their investigation, the man admitted he no longer supported Russia’s war. However, the prosecutor didn’t just pat him on the back and say, “lesson learned.”
Instead, they levied a poetic penalty: pay $1,770 – exactly 30 times the original “donation” – to a Ukrainian charitable organization.
“Estonia’s justice system has elegantly punished a supporter of the Russian world—an example worth following,” Konyk said.
The money was sent to the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tallinn, which actively supports Ukraine, including its armed forces.
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