Russia detained an Estonian, accusing him of trying to join Ukraine’s armed forces. He had come to see his wife, whom Estonia had denied asylum.

Officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service detained an Estonian citizen in Vladimir in spring 2026 and accused him of trying to join Ukraine’s armed forces, according to iStories, an independent Russian investigative outlet, and Delfi.

After the detention, the FSB’s directorate for the Vladimir region released a video in which a man with his face hidden says he was born in Tallinn, holds Estonian citizenship, and has visited Russia “quite often.” He said he developed a “sharply negative” attitude toward the war in Ukraine and, on his own, “reached out to Ukrainian handlers” to ask for help “joining Ukraine’s armed formations.”

In the video, the man gives his name and date of birth, but the audio is muted at that point in the clip. Journalists identified him as 30-year-old Artur Kirmjõe, a paramedic and former member of the Scout Battalion, an elite unit of the Estonian Defense Forces.

Artur traveled to Russia to be with his wife, whom Estonia had denied asylum. Lina, as journalists call her, left for Estonia as early as spring 2022, but that fall, the local Police and Border Guard Board denied her international protection, finding no “signs and evidence” that she could face prosecution in her home country.

The couple was not yet married at the time. After the denial, Lina returned to Russia. Artur followed her, and they married in 2024. They planned to wait out a three-year ban on Lina’s entry into Estonia and then leave with official status. In the meantime, Artur regularly traveled to see his wife. He returned to Russia in mid-April 2026 and was detained a few days later.

Artur was charged with mercenary activity and preparing to commit a crime. The mercenary activity charge carries a sentence of seven to 15 years in prison.