Estonia

18 Mar 2023; AA: For the second time in a week, British and German fighter jets intercepted a Russian aircraft close to Estonian airspace on Friday as NATO carries out joint air policing efforts in the region.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus on Monday sentenced exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to 15 years in prison after a trial in absentia on charges including conspiring to overthrow the government, the latest move in a months-long effort by the Belarusian government to suppress dissent.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The center-right Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, overwhelmingly won the Baltic country’s general election, while a far-right populist challenger lost seats in a vote that focused on national security and the economy.

Preliminary returns from a completed ballot count showed the Reform Party, the senior partner in the outgoing three-party coalition government, received 31.2% of the vote — the biggest share in Sunday’s election.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonians were voting Sunday in a general election that the center-right Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, is a favorite to win.

She faces a challenge from the populist opposition EKRE party that is seeking to limit the Baltic nation’s exposure to the Ukraine crisis and is blaming the government for citizens’ economic misery.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonia, which is providing Ukraine with more weapons than any other country relative to its economic might, is holding a general election Sunday that will determine whether it can sustain that high level of support.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, 45, has emerged in the past year of war as one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine. She’s seeking a second term, with her standing enhanced by her international appeals to impose sanctions on Moscow.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Russia has no choice but to take into account NATO’s nuclear capabilities, in remarks justifying Russia’s recent suspension of its participation in the New START treaty.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus on Monday opened the trial of a journalist and prominent member of the country’s sizable Polish minority, the latest in a series of court cases against critics of the authoritarian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Andrzej Poczobut, 49, faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of the charges of harming national security and inciting discord. Poczobut, a journalist for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a top figure in the Union of Poles in Belarus, has been behind bars since his detention in March 2021.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian court on Thursday opened the trial of jailed human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, one of the winners of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

Bialiatski and two other top figures of the Viasna human rights center he founded face up to 12 years in prison if convicted of financing anti-government protests.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Statements made this week by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have reignited fears that his army could join Russian forces in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, but the authoritarian leader appears reluctant to lend his troops to the effort, despite perceived pressure from Moscow.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Moscow’s barrage of missile strikes on cities all across Ukraine has elicited celebratory comments from Russian officials and pro-Kremlin pundits, who in recent weeks have actively criticized the Russian military for a series of embarrassing setbacks on the battlefield.