Estonia’s foreign minister has told The Telegraph that Vladimir Putin is preparing to send hundreds of thousands of ex-soldiers to wreak havoc across Europe following a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Magus Chakna has proposed a blanket ban on Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine from entering the EU’s Schengen free travel zone, in response to the Kremlin’s plans to send “former prisoners and rapists” to wage hybrid war in the EU.
He invited Britain to join the plan to strengthen cooperation in order to prepare the continent for “very, very sudden security risks to Europe” following a potential peace deal.
“There are close to a million fighters in Russia right now,” Chalkner told The Telegraph on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brussels.
“Russia and Putin are already using different people to attack our society, but when peace comes, we can imagine that we will have hundreds of thousands of ex-combatants coming to Europe.
“They definitely don’t have a good plan to earn their own wages and pay taxes. They have really bad plans. We’ve seen Russian special services organizing different attacks in Europe.”
Margus Tsahkna wants total ban on Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine – David Rose for The Telegraph
Estonians fear that Putin will take advantage of the pause in the fighting in Ukraine to refocus his aggression on Europe through hybrid warfare.
Russia-related sabotage has increased dramatically in several European countries, including the UK, since Moscow invaded neighboring countries in 2022.
In 2024, Kremlin agents were involved in an arson attack on a warehouse in east London that was storing satellite communications equipment for Ukraine.
Counterterrorism police are investigating an alleged arson attack on a property owned by Sir Keir Starmer last year and are investigating whether Russia was involved.
Similar, often mysterious, high-profile incidents have been reported across the continent in recent years.
For the past six months, Estonia’s security services have been examining how Putin could use former soldiers to further intensify his hybrid war against NATO.
“They are perfectly suited to the task,” Mr. Chalkner said. “But they certainly come from a very bad background and mentally, you know they’ve been killing, raping… so this is a very, very sudden danger to European security.”
That is why Mr Chalkner asked his EU colleagues to consider a blanket ban on entry of former Russian fighters to the Schengen area, as well as a ban on work visas and residence permits.
The group’s free movement zone covers 29 countries from the Balearic Islands to the Baltic Sea.
In a diplomatic note sent to EU foreign ministers and seen by The Daily Telegraph, Estonia warned that an estimated 1.5 million Russian citizens had participated in the war in Ukraine, of which about 640,000 were still on active duty.
“We see ex-prisoners and rapists on the battlefield, all these crazy guys, and Putin doesn’t want that in Russia,” Mr. Chakna warned.
“They will be weaponized. They will be sent to Europe… We know exactly how to fight Russian forces as NATO, but this is more dangerous and we need to act now while they are still stuck on the battlefield.”
The warning from Estonia is the latest from a NATO country that believes Europe needs to be more vigilant about the Russian threat – Jeff J Mitchell/Getty
The minister said individual EU countries already have the ability to impose an embargo on former Russian soldiers entering the bloc’s external borders.
Estonia earlier this month imposed bans on 261 ex-combatants over fears they had committed criminal offences.
Estonian intelligence documents warn: “As many as 180,000 convicted prisoners were recruited directly from Russian penal colonies into special military units.”
“Many returnees have committed serious crimes. In early 2025, the number of returns from Russia reached a 15-year high, and this surge is likely related to the large-scale return of ex-combatants.”
Chalkner said his colleagues had given positive feedback on his proposal for an EU-wide ban and said EU prime ministers and presidents could issue political guidance at the next meeting in Brussels.
Tallinn has released the names of suspected Russian soldiers who may be trying to reach the European Union after a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“We need to do this now”
Asked whether the UK could play a role in a blanket ban, the minister told The Telegraph: “If you’re talking about terrorists and these bad guys who want to come in, we already have a lot of co-operation.
“I see a lot of opportunities for coordination with non-Schengen members.
“But we need to do it now, we are not ready for peace and Europe is not ready for peace.”
Even though the UK is a member of the EU, it is not part of the EU’s Schengen free movement area. However, Sir Keir is recalibrating relations with Brussels post-Brexit in an attempt to secure better access to EU crime and immigration databases.
In theory, the UK could access an EU list of any former Russian soldiers to enforce its own ban, while also sharing intelligence in the opposite direction.
A UK government spokesman said: “Border security is national security and we can take strict measures to protect our country from the Russian threat.
“We will continue to work with our allies and use our full capabilities to counter those who seek to threaten our values, harm our citizens and undermine our collective security.”
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