Estonia has officially submitted a proposal to the EU Council for an indefinite entry ban for all Russian military personnel who participated in the war against Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasized that hundreds of thousands of combatants with combat experience and a criminal past pose a direct threat to Europe's internal security in the post-war period. This is reported by Euronews, writes UNN.
Details
Speaking in Brussels on January 29, Margus Tsahkna stated that Russia has about a million fighters, a significant part of whom were recruited from prisons. The Estonian side insists on creating a single pan-European "blacklist" to prevent the legalization of these individuals in the Schengen area after the end of active hostilities.
There is no way from Bucha to Brussels. This is the main message. In Russia, we have almost a million combatants. Mostly they are criminals. These are very dangerous people. I am sure that most of them will come to Europe after the war, and Europe is not ready for this.
Plan support and technical challenges
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas confirmed that a number of member states supported the Estonian initiative. She noted that the EU must develop a mechanism for identifying combatants in advance, without waiting for a possible ceasefire. The main challenge remains logistics: according to intelligence, more than 1.5 million Russian citizens took part in the war, and tracking them will require unprecedented coordination between special services and border agencies of EU countries.
Currently, the European Commission has already tightened the visa regime, transferring Russian passport holders to single-entry visas from November 2025. The new plan provides for a transition from visa restrictions to a complete ban on stay and obtaining residence permits for anyone involved in the aggression. Since the issue concerns migration policy and security, a qualified majority of votes of member countries may be sufficient for its approval.