Estonia bans entry for over 1,000 individuals who fought on Russia's side against Ukraine

That is according to ERR, Ukrinform reports.

"Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine is one of the gravest crimes against humanity. Russian servicemen who fought and continue to fight in Ukraine have killed, destroyed, raped, and looted. Closing the common European security space and the Schengen Area to them is in the security interests of us all," Interior Minister Igor Taro said.

According to him, from wars previously launched by Russia – for example, in Afghanistan or Chechnya – it is known that people returning from the front begin to look for new violence-related challenges in organized crime.

In addition, Taro recalled that aggression must come at a cost for the aggressor.

"The European Union has imposed political and economic sanctions on Russia as the aggressor state. However, this is not only the Kremlin's war, as hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens have fought and are fighting against Ukraine. A war of aggression must carry a price for each of them as well. Closing the Schengen Area to them is one element of that price," he said.

In January 2026, Estonia imposed entry bans on 261 people who had taken part in the war against Ukraine on Russia's side.