Estonian Defence Minister Resigns Over £33 Million Fake Ammunition Scandal for Ukraine
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Plevkur has resigned from his position following the failure of a €70 million (approximately Rp 1.4 trillion) artillery ammunition procurement intended to arm Ukraine against the Russian military invasion.
The procurement involved an Italian company, managed by an Indian party, which had no prior history of ammunition sales, despite the Estonian state agency having disbursed €70 million in payments. This procurement error, as reported by Estonian World and Kyiv Independent on Thursday (3/9/2026), came to light after the Estonian National Audit Office released a report on the country’s defence spending on 28 August, criticising military procurements by the Ministry of Defence in recent years.
According to local media ERR News, the report revealed the €70 million procurement error, which subsequently triggered calls for Pevkur’s resignation. In response, Pevkur stated that he was personally unaware of the issues regarding the ammunition deal, which was signed in 2024. However, he expressed his readiness to take responsibility for the impact.
“A leader must have the strength and courage to take responsibility… even though a minister does not count bullets and is not directly involved in contract negotiations… the National Audit Office’s comments raise questions regarding political responsibility,” Pevkur said in a Facebook statement while announcing his resignation on Wednesday (2/9).
“Therefore, today I must take political responsibility for the entire defence sector and hand over the baton of the Defence Minister position to the Prime Minister,” he added.
How did the ammunition procurement error occur?
According to reports from Eesti Ekspress, Estonia agreed in 2024 to purchase artillery ammunition from a company named Datasel SRL, registered in Italy and owned by the Indian company Neco Defense Munitions. The deal aimed to supply ammunition to Ukraine as it faced severe shortages due to Russian forces.
The purchase utilised funds from the European Union’s European Peace Facility. The Estonian Defence Investment Centre (RKIK) had sent millions of euros in advance payments to Datasel for the ammunition. However, the company repeatedly reported delays, and deliveries failed to arrive for months.
When the shipment finally arrived in 2025, according to the Eesti Ekspress report, the ammunition received was defective and “useless.”
The Estonian National Audit Office had repeatedly warned about the risk of misappropriating state funds during this period. The August report was the latest in a series of audit findings highlighting issues within the Ministry of Defence’s expenditures.
“There is a risk that the cost of €70 million must be borne by the Estonian state budget, meaning other planned expenditure items will be compromised,” stated the Estonian National Audit Office.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal will hold a cabinet meeting on Thursday (3/9) local time to discuss Pevkur’s resignation and the findings in the audit report. The Estonian Prosecutor’s Office has also launched a criminal investigation into the matters covered in the reports for the years 2025 and 2026.