Estonia will require additional security screening for emails sent from Russia’s .ru top-level domain before they reach government officials, according to the country's minister of justice and digital affairs.

The new measure will take effect on August 31, the anniversary of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is intended to protect public institutions from cyber threats, Minister Liisa Pakosta said in a public speech quoted by local media.

"Email addresses ending in .ru pose an elevated cyber risk. There is a serious danger that they are being used to break into personal databases," she added.

Under the new policy, recipients will receive a notification when a message from an address ending in .ru has been isolated for additional screening and will have to decide whether to open it using additional security precautions.

According to Pakosta, the so-called "email quarantine" mechanism is already used across the Estonian public sector to isolate suspicious emails based on various risk criteria.

"The entire public sector operates behind a cyber shield," Pakosta said, adding that Russian email domains will now become another criterion for automatic quarantine.

The change is expected to slow communication with users relying on Russian email providers, but Estonian authorities argue that the additional checks are necessary given the sharp increase since 2022 in malicious emails originating from Russian servers, which have frequently been used to deliver phishing messages and malware.

Pakosta also urged individuals and organizations that communicate with Estonian authorities through .ru email addresses to switch to alternate providers that are not controlled by Russian authorities.

The announcement comes as Tallinn continues to strengthen its defenses against Russian hybrid threats. Estonia, one of Ukraine's strongest supporters since Russia's 2022 invasion, has long been a target of Kremlin-linked cyber operations, espionage, and disinformation campaigns.

Last month, Estonia's Foreign Ministry summoned a Russian diplomat over what it described as a disinformation campaign targeting the Baltic states. Earlier this year, Estonia's Internal Security Service (KAPO) reported a record number of Russian spies apprehended in 2025 and warned that sabotage, espionage, and information operations are playing an increasingly prominent role in Moscow's activities against the country.