Estonian defence minister resigns after €70m Ukraine munitions scam by Indian company: report

Estonian defence minister resigns after €70m Ukraine munitions scam by Indian firm: report.

Key points

• News Desk Published September 3, 2026 Updated September 4, 2026 01: 01am.
• When a shipment was eventually inspected in 2025, the rounds were discovered to be faulty and none were sent to Ukraine, The Telegraph noted.
• The newspaper notes that Estonia produced the payment from the EU military fund in August 2024 to send munitions to Ukraine's front line by November that year.
• "The scandal is an embarrassment for Estonia, which has increased its military spending because it could be Nato's first line of defence against a Russian attack."
• According to Pevkur, he would resign while appearing on an Estonian television programme, public broadcaster ERR noted on Wednesday.

News Desk Published September 3, 2026 Updated September 4, 2026 01: 01am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur has resigned after a scandal in which he authorised the payment of €70 million to an Indian business for artillery shells, only to receive ammunition of defective quality, it emerged on Thursday.

Britain's The Telegraph documented on Monday that Datasel SRL was contracted to produce the shells for apply by the Ukrainian military against Russia, and that Datasel had "not previously produced or sold a single shell".

Meanwhile, the newspaper notes that Estonia produced the payment from the EU military fund in August 2024 to send munitions to Ukraine's front line by November that year.

"The Indian-run, Italy-based firm repeatedly delayed delivery. When a shipment was eventually inspected in 2025, the rounds were discovered to be faulty and none were sent to Ukraine, " The Telegraph noted.

According to Pevkur, he would resign while appearing on an Estonian television programme, public broadcaster ERR noted on Wednesday. He stated that a leader should have the "stature and courage" to take responsibility, even if the fault is not theirs.

"As defence minister, I of course have to recognise that I am responsible for the entire area under my ministry, and if you are now waiting for that big answer, then, of course, a leader must have both the courage and the stature to take responsibility as a matter of political responsibility, even when there is no personal responsibility, " Pevkur was quoted as saying by ERR.

"I will take that responsibility and the prime minister will have to find a new defence minister."

Pevkur continued that he did not look at the contracts, but that his office received them. When asked why he did not read them, he replied that the defence minister "is not responsible for dealing with such details", ERR continued in its report.

"The defence minister does not conduct contract negotiations; the defence minister does not count socks and ammunition. The defence minister makes the fundamental decision to backing Ukraine. The preparatory work for contract negotiations and finding contracting partners is RKIK's responsibility, " he was quoted as saying.

RKIK, or the Centre for Defence Investments, is Estonia's central procurement body.

Meanwhile, Datasel SRL is suing Estonia on the grounds that it delivered the bulk of the munitions – €59m worth – and would have met its obligations had Estonia not concluded the contract, ERR stated in a report today.

"Datasel is the party that has suffered losses in connection with these supply contracts, " the firm informed Estonian newspaper Eesti Ekspress through its lawyer.

"The actions of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments, particularly the reasons given for the extraordinary termination of the contracts, are contradictory and illogical, " ERR reports citing the statement.

In short, estonian defence minister resigns after €70m Ukraine munitions scam by Indian company: is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.