Estonia's defense minister resigns over defense procurement scandal

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) announced on the ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" that he will step down from his post. He cited serious criticism from the National Audit Office regarding the activities of the Estonian Defense Forces and the Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) as the reason.

Pevkur argued that a leader must be willing to take political responsibility even without personal fault, when doing so serves the broader goal of national defense. While acknowledging that a minister does not personally negotiate contracts or track every detail, he said the audit office's findings raised legitimate questions about accountability across the entire defense sector.

In a social media post published alongside the interview, Pevkur said the decisions made during his tenure had strengthened national defense and that Estonia is better protected than ever. He thanked members of the Defense Forces and Defense League, officials, defense industry representatives and allies, and singled out former prime ministers Kaja Kallas and Kristen Michal for entrusting him with the role.

Background to the scandal

It emerged this week that Estonia had committed to purchasing artillery shells for Ukraine and had paid €70 million in advance to Indian companies that had never previously sold a single shell. Magnus-Valdemar Saar, former head of RKIK, said no major decisions were made without approval from Defense Ministry leadership — then-Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm was aware of negotiations on the first contract, while current Permanent Secretary Kaimo Kuusk was kept informed of later developments.

Pevkur admitted he had not personally read the contracts, though RKIK had presented them to him. He maintained that a minister's role is to make the fundamental decision to support Ukraine, while contract preparation and negotiation fall under RKIK's responsibility.

Earlier the same day, a special Riigikogu committee examined confusion in defense-sector accounting based on the National Audit Office's report. Leaders of several parliamentary parties publicly called for Pevkur's resignation. Prime Minister Kristen Michal said he would convene a cabinet meeting to hear the auditor general's overview, adding that while he did not consider the minister personally at fault, that did not preclude him from taking political responsibility.