Estonian Defense Minister resigns following Ukrainian ammunition procurement scandal

Estonian defense minister Hanno Pevkur (r) visited Ukraine in September. (Estonian MoD)

MILAN — Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has resigned from his position, which he has served in since 2022, following a €70 million ($81 million) procurement scandal reportedly involving failed European Union-funded artillery projectile deliveries for Ukraine.

“Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has resigned — thank you for leading Estonia’s national defense and for your steadfast support for Ukraine. He has served as Minister of Defense from 18 July 2022 and during this time Europe’s security environment has changed significantly,” the Estonian Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement today on X . It did not disclose the reason behind Pevkur’s departure.

On August 28, the Estonian National Audit Office (Riigikogu) published its annual report on the state of accounts and the legality of transactions conducted, in which it identified several significant issues in the activities of the institutions under the MoD. These included continued shortcomings in the administration, monitoring and implementation of contracts, as well as checking the conformity and arrival of received goods.

“The Defense Investment Centre (RKIK) has assumed financial risks and obligations for the Estonian state budget with contracts for the mediation of equipment, although the MoD has claimed the opposite in the budget materials submitted to Riigikogu,” the report said. “The contracts from which this has now become clear were concealed from the National Audit Office by the RKIK last year.”

Under the State Budget Act 2024-2025, the Estonian MoD was allowed to channel funding to buy military equipment for partner countries without using the country’s own defense budget or risking taxpayers’ money, noted the document.

During 2025, the MoD received €138.4 million in advance payments for such intended mediation, but as the report found, “there is a risk that costs of around €70 million will have to be paid for from the Estonian state budget” at the expense of other planned expenses. The National Audit Office found that this amount, sent to suppliers of goods, was problematic because disputes were ongoing with the producers, as the goods had not been received, and RKIK has gone to court over this. The Estonian Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment and clarification of details reagrding the legal proceedings at the time of writing.

On Sept 2, additional details emerged about the manufacturer’s identity and which contract this referred to. The Estonian newspaper Eesti Ekspress was first to report that in 2024, the Estonian government signed a deal for artillery shells for Ukraine with the Italian-registered company Datasel SRL, owned by the India-based Neco Defense Munitions. Neither firm is known to have sold ammunition.

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Estonian national broadcaster ERR reported that in August 2024, the RKIK signed the first contract with Datasel and sent an advance payment of €15 million, followed in October by a second payment of €10 million. The first batch of projectiles was intended to arrive in Ukraine in November, but ERR said Datasel was experiencing delays and problems.

Despite this, two more contracts were signed for additional deliveries, ERR and Eesti Ekspress reported, with payments totalling €70 million, for which Estonia used funding from the EU’s European Peace Facility.

During a Sept. 2 interview with Estonian ETV news show Aktuaalne kaamera, Pevkur acknowledged that he had not read the artillery contracts, but confirmed that RRIK had brought them to him, as quoted by ERR.

“The defense minister does not conduct contract negotiations; the defense minister does not count stocks and ammunition — it makes the fundamental decision to support Ukraine. The preparatory work for contract negotiations and finding contracting partners is RKIK’s responsibility,” Pevkur said during the TV interview.

Datasel did not respond to a request for comment on the matter, at the time of writing.

爱沙尼亚国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔（右）于9月访问了乌克兰。（爱沙尼亚国防部）

米兰——据报道，爱沙尼亚国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔因欧盟资助的向乌克兰交付炮弹失败，卷入了一起价值 7000 万欧元（8100 万美元）的采购丑闻，他已辞去自 2022 年以来一直担任的国防部长一职。

爱沙尼亚国防部今天在X网站上发表声明称：“国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔已辞职——感谢您领导爱沙尼亚国防事业，并感谢您对乌克兰的坚定支持。他自2022年7月18日起担任国防部长，在此期间，欧洲的安全环境发生了显著变化。”声明并未透露佩夫库尔离职的原因。

8月28日，爱沙尼亚国家审计署（Riigikogu）发​​布了年度财务状况和交易合法性报告，其中指出国防部下属机构的活动中存在若干重大问题。这些问题包括合同管理、监督和执行方面持续存在的不足，以及对收到的货物是否符合规定和到货情况的检查不力。

报告称：“尽管国防部在提交给爱沙尼亚议会的预算文件中声称情况恰恰相反，但国防投资中心（RKIK）通过设备采购合同承担了爱沙尼亚国家预算的财务风险和义务。而现在揭示这一点的合同，正是RKIK去年向国家审计署隐瞒的。”

该文件指出，根据 2024-2025 年国家预算法案，爱沙尼亚国防部被允许将资金用于为伙伴国家购买军事装备，而无需动用该国自身的国防预算或冒着动用纳税人资金的风险。

2025年，国防部已收到1.384亿欧元的预付款，用于开展此类调解工作。但报告指出，“约7000万欧元的费用可能需要从爱沙尼亚国家预算中支出”，这将挤占其他计划支出。国家审计署发现，这笔支付给货物供应商的款项存在问题，因为与生产商的纠纷仍在继续，货物尚未到货，皇家德国工业协会（RKIK）已就此提起诉讼。截至发稿时，爱沙尼亚国防部尚未回应置评请求，也未就相关法律诉讼的细节作出澄清。

9月2日，有关制造商身份和所涉合同的更多细节浮出水面。爱沙尼亚报纸《爱沙尼亚快报》（Eesti Ekspress）率先报道称，爱沙尼亚政府于2024年与意大利注册公司Datasel SRL签署了一份向乌克兰供应炮弹的协议，该公司由总部位于印度的Neco Defense Munitions公司所有。据了解，这两家公司均未曾出售过弹药。

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爱沙尼亚国家广播公司ERR报道称，2024年8月，乌克兰皇家科学院（RKIK）与Datasel公司签署了第一份合同，并支付了1500万欧元的预付款，同年10月又支付了1000万欧元的第二笔款项。首批炮弹原计划于11月运抵乌克兰，但ERR表示Datasel公司遇到了延误和问题。

尽管如此，据爱沙尼亚国家广播电视台 (ERR) 和《爱沙尼亚快报》(Eesti Ekspress) 报道，双方又签署了两份额外的货物交付合同，总付款额达 7000 万欧元，爱沙尼亚为此使用了欧盟欧洲和平基金的资金。

9 月 2 日，佩夫库尔在接受爱沙尼亚 ETV 新闻节目《Aktuaalne kaamera》采访时承认，他没有看过火炮合同，但证实 RRIK 已将这些合同交给了他，ERR 援引他的话说。

佩夫库尔在电视采访中表示：“国防部长不负责合同谈判；国防部长不负责清点库存和弹药——国防部长只负责做出支持乌克兰的根本决定。合同谈判的准备工作和寻找承包伙伴是俄罗斯国防军最高司令部（RKIK）的职责。”

截至发稿时，Datasel尚未对此事作出回应。