BNS weekend news summary

TALLINN – A summary of the weekend's top news from BNS.

 – Foreign Minister Tsahkna strongly advises against travel to Saudi Arabia and the region due to the increasing frequency of Houthi attacks.

 – Defense Minister Martin Herem discussed in Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders the continuation of military aid, drone cooperation, and the use of Ukraine's experience in developing the Baltic defense zone and protecting civilian infrastructure.

 – A low-pressure system with a moist and unstable air mass will move over Estonia from the Baltic Sea on Monday, bringing rain and strong winds to the coast.

– Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the Riigikogu's Foreign Affairs Committee, is participating in a meeting of the chairs of the Nordic and Baltic (NB8) parliamentary foreign affairs committees in Lithuania on Sunday and Monday, focusing on the regional security situation and border security.

 – President Ülle Madise will take the oath of office in the Riigikogu on Monday, assuming her duties at a formal ceremony beginning at 3 p.m.

– According to Prime Minister Kristen Michal, an agreement with Russia on energy carriers is a major miscalculation, as the revenue from fuel sales helps finance the war against Ukraine.

 – From Tuesday to Thursday, the weather will remain mostly cloudy and rainy, with winds strengthening again on the islands and the west coast on Wednesday.

 – In a speech at the Teacher of the Year gala on Saturday evening, President Alar Karis said that one of the strengths of Estonian education is the professional autonomy of teachers and their ability to adapt to a changing world and the needs of learners.

– The languages and national identity of Russia's Finno-Ugric peoples are under increasing pressure, while inhabitants of their home regions are being recruited into Russia's war against Ukraine and national organizations are being subjected to state control, according to a 2022–2024 and 2025 review by the Fenno-Ugria Foundation on the situation of Russia's Finno-Ugric peoples.

– According to Kalev Stoicescu, former chairman of the National Defense Committee, US President Donald Trump's telephone agreement with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is a foolish and desperate step that will bring political and financial benefits to Moscow and could deepen contradictions in US-European relations.

– According to Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the Riigikogu's Foreign Affairs Committee, US President Donald Trump's attempts to lower US diesel prices with Russia's help are short-sighted and weaken the pressure on Russia, which is waging a war of aggression in Ukraine.

 – Lithuania plans to allocate 4.8 billion euros, or just over five percent of its gross domestic product, to national defense next year, but the main question is how effectively the money will be used, Lieutenant General Remigijus Baltrėnas, Director General of the NATO International Military Staff, said in an interview with BNS on Friday.

– Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed strong support for an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia in a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Sunday.

– United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Sunday expressed support for US President Donald Trump regarding his call, which Burnham termed an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia.

 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia attacked an energy facility after US President Donald Trump announced an energy truce between the two countries.

 – Kyiv and its allies are awaiting details of US President Donald Trump's announcement that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to halt attacks on energy targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.

 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the news portal Axios on Sunday that he was surprised by US President Donald Trump's announcement of an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, but that he would agree to it if it were to take effect.

 – US President Donald Trump announced in a brief statement on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to end attacks on each other's energy infrastructure.

 – Western intelligence services have warned executives of European defense companies that Russia is intensifying efforts to assassinate them, the Financial Times reported, as cited by the Ukrainian news portal Ukrinform.

 – A drone fell and exploded in Moldova during the night into Sunday, although the country's air surveillance systems did not detect any unauthorized border crossings, the media outlet NewsMaker reported, as cited by the Ukrainian news portal Ukrinform.

 – US Republican President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, would like to reach an agreement in the Ukraine war, accusing Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy of refusing to compromise.

 – The decision by US Republican President Donald Trump to lift sanctions on Russian fuel while Russian regime leader Vladimir Putin is attacking civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense, the portal Unian reported on Sunday night, quoting Mike Pence, who served as US Vice President during Trump's first term.

 – British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday evening that he felt full solidarity with him after a confrontation with US Republican head of state Donald Trump over a diesel deal with Russia.

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media on Saturday afternoon that Russia attacked several oblasts in Ukraine last night, damaging residential buildings and railway infrastructure. According to local officials, at least 20 people, including three children, were killed in Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine.

 – US Republican President Donald Trump on Saturday called on Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a new head of state and sharply criticized him for attacking Russian oil refineries, which has contributed to high pre-election diesel fuel prices.

 – Germany announced on Saturday that it will continue to seek new European Union sanctions against Russia, despite Moscow's agreement with the US to supply diesel to alleviate a fuel shortage.

 – The Saudi Arabian civil aviation authority announced that a new attack hit Dammam airport in the eastern part of the country on Sunday evening.

 – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday expressed support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his dispute with US President Donald Trump and backed Kyiv's call for an energy ceasefire with Russia.

 – Polish police have arrested a man suspected of threatening Prime Minister Donald Tusk and planning an attack on him, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński announced on Sunday.

– Polish police suspect that Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz have become targets of possible assassination attempts, the Interior Ministry announced on Sunday.

 – A drone attack damaged a Yandex data center east of Moscow and disrupted its operations, the tech giant announced on Sunday.

 – A man shot and killed eight people, including two children, in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday, local media reported on Saturday.

– US, Ukrainian, and European officials met in Miami on Friday as part of a new diplomatic effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine.