When she was prime minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas represented 1.3 million people in a tiny nation sandwiched between Russia and the Baltic Sea. Since taking up her post as European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief in late 2024, the 47-year-old now speaks on the world stage for some 450 million people spread across 27 countries.

But one thing hasn't changed: Kallas remains keenly focused on Russia.

"Clearly sabotage is on the rise in Europe," Kallas told DW's Alexandra von Nahmen when asked about a string of suspected hybrid attacks, the latest involving deep-sea cables in the Swedish economic zone of the Baltic.

"We shouldn't really see these events in isolation, but as part of a bigger picture. And understand that Russia has intentions towards Europe and European security architecture that haven't changed," Kallas said in the exclusive DW interview at the Brussels headquarters of the European External Action Service on Thursday.

As someone born in Soviet-occupied Estonia, it is perhaps unsurprising that the politically centrist Kallas has earned a reputation as one of Moscow's fiercest critics and Ukraine's staunchest backers.

To view this video........

© Deutsche Welle