In settlement proceedings, Harju County Court found Ivan Chihaial, a Moldovan citizen, guilty of arson of the Slava Ukraina restaurant, committed in the interests and on behalf of the Russian special services, and sentenced him to six and a half years of imprisonment.
A Moldovan citizen of the same name, an accomplice to the crime, was found guilty of an offence against property and sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment, six months of which he must actually serve. If he commits a new criminal offence during a probationary period of three and a half years, the court may also enforce two years' imprisonment. In addition, Ivan Chihaial, who has been convicted of a crime against property, must compensate for the damage caused by the arson.
In the course of the criminal proceedings, it was established that Ivan Chihaial, born in 1992, received a task from the General Government of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU). In January 2025, he carried out a trial operation on behalf of the GRU when he set fire to the COOP store in Osula, Võrumaa. The next day, a person acting in the interests and on behalf of the GRU gave him the task of setting fire to the Slava Ukraina restaurant in Tallinn. To prepare the attack, Chihaial was accompanied by his cousin of the same name, who was unaware of the Russian special service's interests. On the night of January 31, they drove to Tallinn, set fire to the restaurant, and then left Estonia.
Both the COOP store in Võrumaa and the Slava Ukraina restaurant in Tallinn were set on fire in the same manner: a window was broken, gasoline was poured inside, a bag with a gasoline can was placed through the window, and then set on fire.
"Although the suspects had left Estonia, the court arrested them in absentia at the prosecutor's request at the beginning of February, and the prosecutor's office issued a European arrest warrant against them. A few days later, they were detained in Italy and surrendered to Estonia in the course of the proceedings," said State Prosecutor Triinu Olev-Aas.
Since February 2023, Russia has been preparing attacks against monuments, people, and property in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. "The aim of the attacks is to polarize and divide society and to sow fear and mistrust. Thus, this attack was also directed against the security of the Republic of Estonia," added Olev-Aas.
The Estonian Internal Security Service has noted that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Russian special services to recruit from Estonia, including among double citizens on the border. Estonian society supports Ukraine, and therefore it is difficult for Russian special services to find attackers in Estonia to carry out such attacks. "This time, Moldovans imprisoned for robbery in Russia were recruited to perform their dirty duties. As before, the Russian special services' tools were quickly apprehended," commented Harrys Puusepp, Head of the Office of the Estonian Internal Security Service.
The rapid apprehension of the accused was possible thanks to the efforts of the Police and Border Guard Board in the initial days, together with the Estonian Internal Security Service and the State Prosecutor's Office, and very good international cooperation with the law enforcement and prosecutors' offices of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Italy. The Kalamaja community also made an important contribution to the resolution of the proceedings. We are grateful that the community was quick to share security camera recordings and other important information, enabling a swift resolution of the case.