Lauri Heikkinen / Prime Minister's Office of Finland, via Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY 2.0Cropped by a Wikimedia Commons contributor from the Finnish Government's photo and scaled to 601 by 800 pixels.
Kristen Michal is an Estonian politician who has been prime minister of Estonia since July 2024 and leads the Reform Party. Michal has served as a member of the Riigikogu, Estonia's parliament, and as minister of justice, minister of economic affairs and infrastructure, and minister of climate.
We have documented 1 statement by Kristen Michal, in 1 case. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.
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Role at the time: Prime minister of Estonia, speaking to Delfi
Condemned
Response to this claim
Pentagon officials, including Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, asked Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in recent weeks to tone down their public rhetoric about the threat posed by Russia.
“I will not hold back: Putin is a dictator who kills women and children. And he will keep doing so until he is forced to change course. (Translated from Estonian. Original: Tagasi hoidma ma ei hakka - Putin on diktaator, kes tapab naisi ja lapsi. Ning teeb seda nii kaua, kui ta sunnitakse muutma oma kurssi)”
The reference point is the Pentagon's reported request that the Baltic states tone down their public rhetoric about Russia. Michal refuses to soften Estonia's statements and says flattering dictators brings only humiliation, rejecting the request.
Reuters reports that Pentagon officials, including Elbridge Colby, asked Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to tone down their rhetoric on Russia. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal says Estonia will stay outspoken; the Pentagon declines to comment.
