Police not ruling out connection between fires at Ukrainian restaurants

Over the past five days, the police have received two reports of arson targeting Ukrainian restaurants. The incidents are being investigated and the authorities do not rule out a possible connection between them or a hate crime motive.
In recent days, the police have received two reports of arson, both linked to Ukraine.
"On Friday morning in Tallinn, a Ukrainian restaurant was set on fire, and on Monday morning in Lääne-Viru County, a garage containing property belonging to a Ukrainian restaurant was also set on fire. At the moment, as the police, we do not see any other connection between these incidents beyond the fact that both involve arson," Urmet Tambre, operational chief of the Northern Prefecture, told Tuesday's "Aktuaalne kaamera."
Tambre said nothing can be ruled out at this stage, including the possibility that this was a hate crime or that the same perpetrators were responsible for both incidents.

Mart Luik, the owner of Slava Ukraina, the restaurant that caught fire in Tallinn, believes the likely reason for the arson is hostility toward the Ukrainian community. He says they have experienced hostility before.
"In my opinion, a clear pattern is emerging here — this was a deliberate act against us as a Ukrainian establishment. Usually, this manifests in smaller ways. For example, our website is trolled on social media. Russian individuals leave one-star reviews on Google to lower our overall rating. The Ukrainian flag has been torn down from our facade, or something similar," Luik told the show.
Hostility has been encountered among both Estonian- and Russian-speaking individuals.
"On Friday, the same January 31, at midday, an Estonian gentleman walked in and started saying that we deserved this and that we should look at how Ukrainians treat prisoners of war. The main complaint, let's say, is why we have to deal with Ukrainians so much," Luik said.

A fire system prevented the building from suffering more severe damage.
The second fire was also linked to a Ukrainian restaurant, Faina. The restaurant is located in Tallinn, but its storage garage in Kunda, Lääne-Viru County, sustained damage estimated at more than €18,000, according to the owner's initial assessment.
Due to the ongoing investigation, the owner declined to comment.
However, according to the police, crimes targeting Ukrainians in Estonia have become increasingly rare.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Helen Wright
Source: Aktuaalne kaamera