Baltic Security Monitor | Breaking News As of 3 September 2026

Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced his resignation on the evening of 2 September, on the TV program "Aktuaalne kaamera." The trigger was criticism from Estonia's National Audit Office over the conduct of the Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (RKIK), together with criminal proceedings opened by prosecutors a day earlier over irregularities within the Ministry of Defence's area of responsibility.

At the center of the scandal is a 2024 deal under which Estonia paid €70 million in advance to Datasel S.R.L., an Italian-registered company owned by India's Neco Defense Munitions, for artillery shells intended for Ukraine, funded through the EU's European Peace Facility. The company had no prior track record supplying ammunition of this kind. The deal was struck amid a severe shortage of artillery shells facing Ukrainian troops, worsened by delays in US aid and the EU's failure to meet its pledge of delivering one million shells by March 2024.

Former RKIK director Magnus-Valdemar Saar confirmed that all major decisions were made with the Ministry of Defence's approval; Pevkur himself was kept informed during negotiations on the initial contract, as were the ministry's then-secretary general Kusti Salm and his successor, Kaimo Kuusk.

In a Facebook post announcing his resignation, Pevkur said he was not personally aware of the problems surrounding the ammunition deal but was prepared to take responsibility for the outcome: "A leader must have strength and courage to take responsibility... even though the minister doesn't count socks and cartridges or hold contract negotiations personally, the comments of the National Audit Office... raise the question of political responsibility. That is why I must take political responsibility for the entire defense field today and pass on the Minister of Defense's baton to the Prime Minister." Pevkur had served as defence minister since 2022.

This is not a routine reshuffle — Pevkur was one of the Baltics' longest-serving defence ministers and a public face of Estonia's push to strengthen defense against the Russian threat. The resignation comes just days after drones gave NATO's new Baltic air-defense mission its first live test, and amid a string of hybrid incidents across the region — a moment when stability at the top of the defense ministry carries added weight.

What happens next

It now falls to Estonia's prime minister to appoint a new defence minister. There is no indication yet of a successor, or whether the investigation will extend to other officials at the Ministry of Defence or RKIK. The prosecutor's criminal proceedings, based on the National Audit Office's 2025 and 2026 reports, remain ongoing.

BSM will track the story as it develops, including the choice of successor, the outcome of the criminal investigation, and any implications for other Estonian defense procurement tied to support for Ukraine.

Baltic Security Monitor (osint-baltic.com) — an analytical publication covering security on NATO's north-eastern flank.