Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur resigns over failed Ukraine ammunition deal
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced his resignation on 2 September amid a scandal over an EU-funded ammunition procurement deal for Ukraine. The deal involved long delivery delays and quality problems, while prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into the procurement process.
Key points
- Hanno Pevkur announced his resignation on 2 September 2026.
- The procurement aimed to supply 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine during an acute shortage.
- Estonia paid approximately €70 million in advance to Indian companies with no prior experience selling ammunition.
- The deal suffered prolonged delivery delays and quality problems.
- Estonia's Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation into the procurement process.
- Pevkur cited the National Audit Office's findings as grounds for assuming political responsibility.
- Pevkur had served as Estonia's defence minister since 2022.
Why it matters
Pevkur's resignation is a significant political consequence for a senior official in one of Ukraine's most vocal military-supporting countries. The failed, EU-financed deal also raises concerns about oversight and accountability in efforts to replenish Ukraine's scarce 155mm artillery-shell stocks. The scandal is adding to political instability after Estonia's governing coalition lost its parliamentary majority in August.
What happened
On 2 September 2026, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced that he was resigning during a television interview. The announcement followed criticism of Estonia's ammunition procurement for Ukraine, which was financed by the European Union as part of a multi-billion-euro effort to replenish Kyiv's stocks during a shortage of 155mm shells. Estonia reportedly paid around €70 million in advance to Indian companies that had previously sold no ammunition. The procurement was marked by prolonged delivery delays and quality problems, prompting a criminal investigation by the Estonian Prosecutor's Office and a lawsuit against the supplier. Pevkur said he was taking political responsibility while denying personal fault and acknowledged that he had not read the relevant contracts.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage presents the episode as a procurement scandal affecting Ukraine directly: EU funds were used in a deal intended to address Ukraine's shortage of 155mm shells, but the payments went to Indian companies without an established ammunition sales record. Reports also emphasize the criminal investigation, the delivery delays and the quality problems.
Background
The procurement was conducted under the Czech-led ammunition initiative for Ukraine. That initiative reportedly shrank from 18 participating countries in December 2025 to nine after Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš took office. Pevkur had been defence minister since 2022 and was described as Estonia's longest-serving defence minister since the country regained independence in 1991. In August, Estonia's governing coalition, comprising the Reform Party and Estonia 200, lost its majority in the Riigikogu after two MPs left their parties; opposition parties called for early elections.