In Estonia’s capital, the restaurant Slava Ukraina was set on fire

On the night of Friday, a fire was set at the restaurant Slava Ukraina in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.

This was reported by the Delfi news outlet.

At 04:45 AM on January 31, the Alarm Center received information about a fire at the Slava Ukraina café-restaurant, located near the Baltic railway station at the beginning of Kopli Street. The building also houses the Economy Hotel on the upper floors. Firefighters broke down the door of the establishment and discovered a fire on the restaurant’s first floor. The fire was contained to the restaurant, but smoke spread into the hotel.

The restaurant owner, Mart Luik, stated that security camera footage shows someone intentionally and deliberately setting the café on fire.

The police are also considering the possibility of arson.

“According to preliminary information, it could have been arson. It is believed that a window of the restaurant on the first floor of Slava was broken and the interior of the restaurant was set on fire. The circumstances of the incident will be investigated under a criminal case for damage and destruction of property. This is a preliminary legal assessment, as evidence gathering is still ongoing,” said Britta Sepp, spokesperson for the Police and Border Guard Department.

Since the café has a Ukrainian theme, law enforcement does not rule out a hate crime motive.

It is worth recalling that in the summer, the chairman of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party, Martin Helme, demanded that the authorities expel military refugees from Ukraine, as they speak Russian.