"The police have established that the Bronze Soldier monument at the Defense Forces Cemetery in Tallinn was defaced late on Saturday night. We have begun misdemeanor proceedings in relation to the graffiti," Vaiko Vaher, head of the Northern Prefecture Operations Office of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), told ERR via a spokesperson.

Vaher added that according to current information, there were two offenders, but their identities have not yet been identified.

"The patrol checked the surrounding area last night, but the perpetrators could not be found," Vaher said.

Photographs published by Estonian news outlets Delfi and Postimees show that the monument had been inscribed with graffiti referencing deportation.

Vaher added that the police are also in contact with the cemetery's caretaker, the Estonian War Museum, which is organizing the cleaning of the monument.

Director of the Estonian War Museum Hellar Lill, told ERR radio on Sunday afternoon that a cleaning company commissioned by the museum has already cleaned moist of the graffiti off the monument.

The War Museum had installed a security guard to monitor the Bronze Soldier monument, which is dedicated to Soviet soldiers, to cover May 9, when Russia commemorates the Red Army's victory over Nazi Germany. However, the incident occurred after the guard's shift had been completed.

Lill said that the security guard was on duty from May 8 to 10, but the defacing of the monument took place after that time. The guard left the cemetery on the evening of Saturday, May 10

This is the third time over the years that the Bronze Soldier monument has been damaged, a police spokesperson said.

"It is obvious that the Bronze Soldier creates antagonism and conflict in our society. The police naturally respond when damage is caused to property, and so we have initiated proceedings in relation to yesterday's defacing," said Vaher.

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