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independence day 108

Independence Day 108 started with flag raising ceremonies across Estonia.

Updated 24.02.2026 07:42

Estonia celebrates 108th anniversary of independenceUpdated 07:42

Prime Minister Kristen Michal was among NB8 leaders who visited Kyiv on February 24, 2026 to mark the four year anniversary of the start of the full-scale invasion,

Prime minister: Estonia to provide €11 million for Ukrainian air defenseUpdated 17:38

Prime Minister Kristen Michal meets with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Kyiv on February 24, 2026.

Video: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wishes Estonia a happy Independence Day

Andrus Merilo: Weakness provokes the aggressor and brings us certain doom

Narva: The flag was raised at 7:18 a.m. on February 24 to mark Estonia's 108th Independence Day.

Gallery: Independence Day celebrated in Narva

President Alar Karis.

Alar Karis: The future depends on the choices each of us makes

Estonia's continuity is not a self-evident gift, but a responsibility borne by every generation, President Alar Karis said during his Independence Day speech. The future hinges on choices made by each and every one of us, headded.

Anniversary of the republic celebrations in Pärnu.

Gallery: Independence Day celebrations in Pärnu

Lauri Hussar

Lauri Hussar: Europe must free itself from fear of the future

The Estonian flag flying in Tartu.

Tartu to celebrate Estonian Independence Day with traditional events

The Estonian Defense Forces held it's annual parade on Independence Day alongside NATO allies in Tallinn in 2026.

Gallery: Defense Forces Independence Day parade 2026Updated 13:11

The annual Defense Forces parade will take place at 12 noon on Tallinn's Freedom Square and in the surrounding streets to mark the 108th anniversary of Estonia's independence.

4 years: full-scale invasion anniversary

Margus Tsahkna.

Foreign minister: Freedom is a value that must be reaffirmed every day

Estonians in Estonia marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine with a rally and procession through Tallinn's Old Town.

Gallery: Ukrainians in Estonia mark full-scale invasion anniversary with rally

winter: latest news

Ice road to the island of Vormsi.

Vormsi island's ice road tourism boost hindering local residents' access

Wind chill values are always colder than actual air temperatures.

A Reader Asks: How do weather apps measure 'feels like' temperatures?

The Hiiumaa-Saarema ice road.

All 3 of Estonia's offical ice roads closed Saturday due to weather conditionsUpdated 13:32

Building an ice road.

Locals making most of winter weather to build ice trails across Estonia

Sea ice.

Sea ice keeps Estonia's Prangli island cut off from the outside world

Sea ice skaters enjoying the frozen Pärnu Bay. February 2026.

Winter water exchange should benefit the Baltic Sea

latest news

Prime Minister Kristen Michal at the Republic of Estonia’s 108th Independence Day concert ceremony at the Estonian National Museum.

Kristen Michal: A time of heightening value conflicts

Marek Tamm.

Marek Tamm: Do words a state make?

Ida-Virumaa Vocational Education Center (IVKHK).

Ida-Viru County vocational school ends Russian-language continuing education

Arashk Azizi

Arashk Azizi: What does it mean to be Estonian?

Vocational student competition at the Viljandi Vocational Training Center (VIKK)

Estonia extends vocational programs to create path to higher education

Forest path in the winter.

Ministry: Estonia might hit LULUCF target after all

russia's war in ukraine: latest from estonia

Ukrainian Film Club showing movie about war veterans on anniversary of full-scale invasion

A room with computers and telephones. Centers equipped in this way are used to organize telephone fraud.

Estonian authorities continue cooperation with Ukraine to combat phone scammers

Col. Ants Kiviselg, director of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Military Intelligence Center.

Estonian intel: Communication disruptions hobble Russian efforts in Ukraine

Olympic games ceremony (photo is illustrative).

Estonia to boycott Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony

Destruction of an apartment block in Bakhmut (photo taken October 2022).

Ukrainian sportspeople to ERR: Russian competitors at Winter Olympics 'disgusting'

politics

Variety of AI apps on a smartphone. Photo is illustrative.

3 more experts join Estonia's AI advisory council

Narva Town Hall.

Narva approves €134 million city budget amid opposition criticism

From left, Aivar Voog, Urmet Kook and Anvar Samost, on a previous edition of the election special webcast.

ERR ratings special: Cold winter ends Reform Party's ratings recovery

Ott Lumi.

New think tank emerges to 'offer fresh ideas to calcified political sphere'

Estonia's non-parliamentary conservative parties plan merger

economy

U.S. dollars and euros.

3 people, 12 companies charged in major Estonian money laundering case

The Estonian Cell plant near Kunda, Lääne-Viru County.

Foreign national dies in pulp mill industrial accident

Hippodrome tunnel and intersection.

Reconstruction of Tallinn Hipodroomi intersection set to begin Updated 23.02

Nutri-Score labeling.

Estonia mulls new food labeling system

Money.

State spends €160,000 on crisis management training for top officials at spa

Defense and security

Traveler holding a bio-metric Russian passport.

Estonia prepared to tighten temporary residence permit process for Russian and Belarusian citizens

Students at Tallinn University of Applied Sciences' (TTK) new drone academy.

New drone academy to open at Tallinn University of Applied Sciences this fall

A bus at the Luhamaa border crossing in south Estonia.

Koidula and Luhamaa night-time border closures come into affect Monday

Russian icebreaker.

Russian icebreakers operating in Baltic Sea near Estonia

Teheran street scene. The slogan on the side of the building depicting the US flag reads

MEP: US has no desire for prolonged Iran military involvement

society

Exhibits at MOMU.

Estonian Motorsports Museum puts collection up for sale

Seto maaselits celebrations on the frozen Lake Obinitsa. February 22, 2026.

Ahead of Orthodox Lent, Estonian Setos celebrate Maslenitsa with local flair

A police car.

Estonia reports record low number of traffic fatalities in 2025

Heavy snowfall.

Drivers in Lääne County asked to delay journeys due to bad weather

The aptly named Czechoslovakian Wolfdog.

Nazgul the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog: A breed also found in Estonia

opinion

Nele Peil.

Nele Peil: Effect of food prices on inflation bigger than we imagine

Kaupo Meiel.

Kaupo Meiel: Of our hard-to-digest food and country

Raimond Kaljulaid.

Raimond Kaljulaid: A new spring in transatlantic ties?

Marko Mihkelson.

Marko Mihkelson: Estonia's survival strategy is values-based realism

Urmas Reinsalu.

Urmas Reinsalu: Foreign policy is not the plaything of day-to-day politics

sports

The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026 closing ceremony, at the Arena di Verona, Sunday, February 22, 2026.

Gallery: Estonia's flagbearers take part in Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026 finale

Watch: Skater Niina Petrõkina 'kills' US star Ilia Malinin in Winter Olympics closing gala

Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Watch: Winter Olympics closing ceremony live on ERR Sunday evening

Estonian freestyle skier Henry Sildaru silver medalist in the halfpipe event at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026, Friday, February 20.

Skier Henry Sildaru ends Estonia's Milano Cortina medals drought to take halfpipe olympic silver

Kristjan Ilves and Ruubert Teder at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics men's Nordic Combined team event.

Estonian pair 10th in Winter Olympics men's Nordic Combined team event

foreign affairs

The Estonian Children's Literature exhibition at the United Nation's headquarters in New York.

Estonian children's literature illustrations on display at UN headquarters

Israeli citizen Anatoly Privalov on trial in Estonia's Harju District Court. February 2026.

Estonia jails Israeli citizen for spying for Russia's FSB

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200).

Minister: Russian, Belarusian athletes' participation in Paralympics is 'disgraceful'

Hannes Astok.

e-Governance Academy freezes EU's Cuba digitization project

IOC and Russian flags.

Estonia's paralympics body protests lift of Russia Milano Cortina games ban

science and research

The intestinal simulator at the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

Estonia's only intestinal simulator helps researchers study digestion

The main building of the University of Tartu.

Estonian universities increasingly replacing master's theses with final exams

Person typing on a keyboard (illustrative).

Estonia's trial e-exams to prep schools for full online rollout

Tallinn Avatud Kool opened on September 1 in Tallinn, one of two new schools opening in the capital this year.

Education ministry's new funding guidelines raise questions in Estonian schools

Priks experimented with a new type of hydrogel cube as a workplace for microbes.

Estonian scientist's smart gel would put bacteria to work in outer space

culture

Garage culture is the focus of an exhibition at the People's Museum of Tallinn.

Tallinn museum showcases garage culture with free tour and film screening

Gallery: Estonia's 2025 Press Photo of the Year announced in Tallinn

The opening of Mihkel Maripuu's exhibition

Gallery: New Tallinn exhibition explores contact between technological and organic worlds

Tauno Kangro's bronze model of Tallinn's Old Town, located on the edge of Town Hall Square. February 2026.

Tactile Tallinn sculpture offers blind visitors new way to explore Old Town

'Nemad ja mina' by Jass Kaselaan.

Estonia's first 'drive-in' art exhibition opens under Freedom Square

features and interviews

The Estonian Song Festival.

'Estonia needs everyone who wants to belong': New exhibition explores complex diaspora identities

Alar Karis giving the interview in Milan.

President: Estonian foreign policy is united

Orm Oja.

Top chef: It is bleak when food markets turn into little more than stylish hangout spots

Franciso Martínez in Sillamäe.

Tales from the Estonian east: New book explores hidden secrets of the 'other Estonia'

Kersti Kaljulaid.

Former Estonian president on seeking another term: Politicians say I'm a real pain

watch again

Vanilla Ninja.

Watch again: Eesti Laul 2026 grand final on Jupiter

EU Enlargement Conference 2026: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?

Watch live: EU enlargement conference: Two steps forward, one step back?

The Estonian authorities preparing to detain the "Baltic Spirit" on February 3, 2026.

Watch: Estonia's special forces detain a suspected smugglers ship

France’s Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad.

French minister Haddad: Europe has everything it needs to be a strong power

Astrid Lindgren's great grandson Johan Palmberg.

Astrid Lindgren's great grandson: All the talent in our family went to Astrid

tallinn

Part of the Pollinator Highway (Putukaväil) in Põhja-Tallinn.

Tallinn's proposed Pelguranna tram reroute draws mixed reactions

The 23rd Tallinn Ski Marathon.

'Ideal' conditions in store for this Saturday's Tallinn Ski Marathon

Tallinn and Lviv have signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework for cooperation in civil protection, crisis preparedness and the development of community resilience.

Tallinn signs new cooperation agreement with Ukranian cultural capital Lviv

Hendrik Johannes Terras.

Regional minister threatens to freeze Tallinn's income tax revenue

Nikki Nair.

US DJ and producer Nikki Nair announces May Tallinn show

tartu

The City of Tartu (Estonia) and the City of Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a structured framework for long-term cooperation in entrepreneurship, education, science and innovation.

Tartu signs new cooperation agreement with Canadian city Sherbrooke

Herne pood in Tartu's Supilinn.

Last of Tartu's corner stores disappearing one by one

A ski resort in Southeastern Estonia.

Southern Estonia gears up for school break travel

Kristiine intersection.

Estonian police to use drones to catch drivers running red lights

Supilinn district in Tartu.

Ministries ignored building register privacy issues for years

narva

The new school building in Narva.

New school complex to be built in Narva

The Valentine's Day heart in Narva.

Narva crowned city with 'Estonia's Biggest Heart' for second year running

Tram tracks.

Narva could get tramway to Narva-Jõesuu to reduce car use

Station Narva 2025.

SADU among new artists confirmed for 2026 Station Narva festival

Narva's Town Hall Square.

New Narva plan shifts focus to riverfront, city center as population shrinks

galleries

Presentation of the Estonian state awards for sports and culture at the Estonian Knighthood House.

Gallery: Estonian state awards for sports and culture presented at Knighthood House

The new 'Talsinki' retail and residential area in central Tallinn.

Tallinn issues building permit for new 'Talsinki' quarter

President Alar Karis awards the 2026 state decorations,

Gallery: President Alar Karis awards state decorations

The Kihnu ice road on Saturday, February 14.

Gallery: Official ice road to Kihnu island opens Saturday

NOËP (left) os one the Eesti Laul 2026 contestants.

Watch: All 12 Eesti Laul 2026 songs on Jupiter

news in simple Estonian

Lihtsad uudised

Lihtsad uudised 20. veebruaril

Lihtsad uudised.

Lihtsad uudised 13. veebruaril

Lihtsad uudised.

Lihtsad uudised 6. veebruaril

Lihtsad uudised.

Lihtsad uudised 19. detsembril

Lihtsad uudised

Lihtsad uudised 5. detsembril

podcasts

Ari Matti Mustonen has appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and been warm up act at his live show as well.

Feature | Estonia's English-language podcasts, all in the one place

Tallinn Airport.

Estonia Explained part seven: Why are you here?

Maarja Merivoo-Parro.

Estonia Explained part six: The language has issues

Estonia Explained part five: What is with the sauna?

Maarja Merivoo-Parro.

Estonia Explained part four: A Thousand Years of Multi-culti

Hea lugeja, näeme et kasutate vanemat brauseri versiooni või vähelevinud brauserit.

Parema ja terviklikuma kasutajakogemuse tagamiseks soovitame alla laadida uusim versioon mõnest meie toetatud brauserist:

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