On Thursday, Russia expelled an Estonian diplomat in response to Estonia naming a Russian diplomat as persona non grata due to purported activities that threatened the constitutional order of the Baltic nation and breached sanctions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that this action was a reply to what it deemed Estonia’s “unfounded” expulsion of a Russian diplomat back in August.

At that time, Estonia claimed that the expelled diplomat had been “directly and actively involved in undermining Estonia’s constitutional order and legal framework.”

The relationship between Estonia and Russia has been strained for many years and deteriorated significantly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Estonia, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, is one of Ukraine’s most fervent supporters.

Since February 2023, Russia has not had an ambassador in Tallinn, following Estonia’s previous expulsion of Moscow’s ambassador in a reciprocal gesture.