New Delhi: Estonia’s defence minister Hanno Pevkur resigned from government following a furore over a botched European Union-funded deal to buy artillery shells for Ukraine from a company owned by an Indian entity, which denied allegations of wrongdoing.
The funding for the deal was provided by the EU as part of a multi-billion-euro effort to shore up Kyiv’s weapons stocks at a time when 155mm artillery shells were in short supply. Pevkur, who has been in office since 2022, announced his decision in a TV appearance late on Wednesday. He has been the longest-serving minister since Estonia gained independence in 1991 and is well-known internationally. The defence ministry’s procurement agency made large upfront payments to the company in 2024 to secure deliveries.
The ruling coalition government lost its majority in parliament in August, making it likely that the opposition would stage a successful no-confidence vote to remove Pevkur if he stayed in office. Estonia’s defence procurement agency has prided itself for being fast and nimble, putting it in a position to act as a facilitator for other European nations buying weapons for Ukraine. It has executed around €400 million ($464 million) in contracts on behalf of international donors, according to Pevkur.
