The previous Estonian prime minister is a distinguished determine in European politics, identified for her agency stance in opposition to Russia
Since assuming the position of EU excessive consultant for international affairs and safety coverage on December 1, 2024, Kaja Kallas has swiftly carried out insurance policies reflecting her agency anti-Russia stance and dedication to supporting Ukraine in its battle with Moscow. Her insurance policies with regard to Russia have lengthy been harsh, and numerous media retailers have labeled her as a ‘Russophobe’.
Anti-Russia insurance policies
On her first day in workplace, Kallas visited Kiev alongside European Council President Antonio Costa, signaling the EU’s unwavering assist for Ukraine amid the continued battle. Throughout the go to, she highlighted the EU’s dedication to bolstering Ukraine’s protection capabilities, asserting a considerable funding of €400 million ($420 million) for the present 12 months and a further €1.9 billion for the next 12 months to boost Ukraine’s protection business.
Kallas praised the EU’s anti-Russia sanctions and has been a vocal advocate for using frozen Russian state property inside the EU to help Ukraine. She said that these funds ought to be used to cowl the damages inflicted by Russia, viewing them as a strategic software to stress Moscow. She expressed confidence that, regardless of sure sensitivities, progress could be made towards this goal. Moscow has known as the freezing of its funds blatant theft and introduced that there could be penalties.
Allegations of historical past falsification
In February 2024, as prime minister of Estonia, Kallas was positioned on a Russian needed listing as a result of her authorities’s efforts to take away Soviet-era World Conflict II monuments. Russian officers accused her of “falsification of historical past,” viewing the removing of those monuments as a desecration of the reminiscence of Soviet troopers who fought in opposition to Nazi Germany.
In 2023, Kallas spoke on the first in-person assembly of the pro-Kiev on-line group ‘NAFO’ on Saturday, praising their efforts within the ‘info battle’ in opposition to Russia.
NAFO, based by Kamil Dyszewski – who is thought for having anti-Semitic and white supremacist views – has celebrated Russian civilian deaths and raised funds for people accused of battle crimes. He has made quite a few posts praising Nazi Germany and denying the Holocaust.
‘NAFO’ stands for the ‘North Atlantic Fellas Group’ and consists of web customers identified for his or her ‘Shiba Inu’ avatars and powerful assist for the Ukrainian army. Members – referred to as ‘Fellas’ – actively promote Ukraine’s messages on social media, stress platforms to censor pro-Moscow accounts, and solicit donations for the Georgian Legion, a mercenary group led by a person who has admitted to committing battle crimes in Ukraine.
Critics have additionally scrutinized Kallas’ household historical past, alleging connections to nationalist actions in the course of the early twentieth century. A number of researchers have highlighted her grandfather’s alleged position within the Estonian police and nationalist militia in the course of the Nineteen Twenties and Nineteen Thirties.
Enterprise ties to Russia
In August 2023, experiences emerged that Stark Logistics, a transportation firm during which Kallas’ husband Arvo Hallik held a 24.9% stake, continued operations involving Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine battle in early 2022. This revelation was significantly hanging given Kallas’ sturdy public stance urging Estonian firms to stop all enterprise actions with Russia in response to the battle.
Stark Logistics was discovered to be facilitating the transportation of products for AS Metaprint, an Estonian firm with ongoing operations in Russia. Between February and November 2022, Metaprint reportedly bought roughly €17 million value of products to Russia.
In response to the general public outcry, Hallik introduced he would divest his shares in Stark Logistics and resign from all positions inside the firm.
Kallas addressed the state of affairs by highlighting her dedication to transparency and denying any prior data of her husband’s enterprise dealings associated to Russia.
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