Estonia’s Internal Security Service (ISS/KAPO) detained a record number of individuals who had cooperated with Russian intelligence services in 2025, according to the agency’s spokeswoman Marta Tuul.
She stated that 16 people with ties to Russian intelligence agencies — both the FSB and GRU — were detained last year. The service director, Margo Palloson, confirmed at a press conference that the past year had set a record for such detentions.
“Russian intelligence services cannot operate freely on Estonian territory, so they seek out ‘low-level’ operatives to carry out specific tasks,” Marta Tuul noted. She emphasized that Estonian services identify such individuals quickly and that there is no cause for concern.
The KAPO yearbook, published today, highlights the persistently high pressure from Russian intelligence agencies to recruit agents. The majority of those detained had been working for the FSB.
This statement comes in conjunction with the release of the Security Service’s latest annual report, which analyzes the main threats to Estonia’s national security in 2025.