Estonia / 2024-02-ee-1
/ date of the event / day not established
In early 2024, in February according to the prosecution, a parked car with Ukrainian registration plates was set on fire on Mõisavahe street on the outskirts of Tartu; the perpetrators sprayed "KOOS", the name of an Estonian party, on the bonnet and left a message on the Molotov cocktail bottle that Ukrainians could go home. The arson was filmed and spread via Telegram, staged to look like the work of the KOOS party. On 25 March 2025 Tartu County Court convicted Andrey Makarov, a citizen of Estonia and Russia, of treason and sentenced him to 15 years, finding it proven that he had received the arson task from Russia - according to ERR from the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, after GRU training; his accomplice, Belarusian citizen Stanislav Markin, had pleaded guilty earlier. On 30 April 2026 Tartu Circuit Court reduced the sentence to 13 years while upholding the finding that the arson was carried out in Russia's interests. The exact day of the arson is not given in the available statements, so the record carries month precision.
officially attributed
A court or a competent state body has attributed it. That is not the same as a proven attack: an indictment is an allegation, not a verdict.
Named party: General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU military intelligence)
A - established by a court
Tartu Maakohus (Sąd Okręgowy w Tartu) / 2025-03-25 / carrying out the act
The court found the treason charge proven, including that in early 2024 Makarov received from Russia the task of setting fire to a Ukrainian-plated car in Tartu; according to ERR the court confirmed he had GRU training and that the instruction came from the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. A first-instance judgment, not final when delivered.
judgment is not final
Tartu Ringkonnakohus (sąd apelacyjny) / 2026-04-30 / carrying out the act
The appeal court reduced the sentence to 13 years but agreed with the first-instance court that Makarov acted in Russia's interests when he set fire to the Ukrainian-plated car in Tartu in early 2024. Whether the ruling is final is not established.
finality not established
No casualties reported.
Tartu County Court judgment: 15 years for treason, 18,990 euros awarded to the victim jointly with the accomplice. A judgment does not create a new incident on the timeline.
Tartu Circuit Court reduced the sentence to 13 years, treating two of the four episodes as treason; the finding that the arson served Russia's interests was upheld.
Eesti Kohtud (Tartu Maakohus) / primary source
supports: the record, the attribution, that it happened, the impact
ERR / 2025-03-25 / secondary source
supports: the record, the attribution, the location, the date
ERR News / 2025-03-26 / secondary source
supports: the record, the attribution, the location
Tartu Postimees / 2025-02-03 / secondary source
supports: the date, the attribution
Tartu Postimees / 2026-04-30 / secondary source
supports: the attribution