In 2014 Russia kidnapped KAPO counterintelligence officer Eston Kohver on an operation allegedly on the east side of the border. After spending a year in a Russian prison, he was exchanged for a Russian FSB spy Estonia had caught. This prompted the government to issue a general advisory for all state and military personnel (a ban practically) for travel to Russia. Metsavas could no longer pass on documents to Anton in St. Petersburg.
The GRU had made contact with him in 2008 as he left his mother’s home in Lasnamäe and in December of that year he was contacted by his GRU handlers in St. Petersburg. This is when his assignments started.
In 2014, being forbidden to travel to Russia, where he met his handler, Metsavas thought he could extricate himself from a self-destructive situation. The travel ban gave him a solid excuse to opt out. In fact in 2013 he had already told Anton that he wanted to quit.
Other circumstances compounded his motive to abandon the GRU. While serving with Estonian soldiers in Afghanistan, in a war zone, a deeper feeling of camaraderie in Metsavas built up while facing an enemy together. Military risk pay, in a combat region, was three times higher than the normal rate. It was this growing sense of belonging coupled with a strengthened financial existence that also spurred Metsavas’ decision to end the GRU tasks.
(Pikemalt Eesti Elu 12.06.2020 paber- ja PDF/digileh
