resigns (updated!) TALLINN, September 2, BNS – Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform Party) announced on Wednesday in the news program "Aktuaalne kaamera" that he is resigning due to issues that have arisen in the management of his ministry. On Tuesday, the prosecutor's office announced that it had initiated a criminal investigation to verify the facts outlined in the State Audit Office's report concerning the activities of the Ministry of Defense. The audit examined the accuracy of the state’s annual financial report for 2024 and the legality of transactions. The scandal erupted when it became clear that Estonia intended to purchase ammunition for Ukraine and had paid 70 million euros as an advance to an Indian company that had previously not engaged in ammunition transactions. The then-head of the State Center for Defense Investments, Magnus-Valdemar Saar, confirmed that all significant decisions were made with the approval of the Ministry of Defense, and that during negotiations for the first contract, besides Pevkur, the then-chancellor Kusti Salm and later the new chancellor Kaimo Kuusk were also informed. Pevkur has held the position of Minister of Defense since 2022. On Wednesday evening, in his Facebook post, Pevkur wrote that the security of Estonia is not a project of one person, but a shared responsibility. "For the past four years, I have had the honor of leading the development of Estonia's state defense and support for Ukraine. I believe that in both directions we have been international leaders — we made decisions rather than waited. During this time, Estonia's defense has been fundamentally modernized. The defense budget has increased from two to over five percent of GDP, and in monetary terms — almost four times. I am sincerely grateful to the people of Estonia for these joint efforts," he wrote. "We increased the wartime personnel to 44,000 fighters, and the number of Kaitseliit members to 30,000. We procured a significant amount of ammunition and new weapon systems, developed air defense and anti-ship defense, improved fire support from concealed positions, and systematically integrated drones into state defense. Together with our allies, we created the Estonian division and strengthened the defense of Estonia. At the same time, the turnover of Estonia's defense industry is approaching one billion euros. In four years, Estonia's state defense, along with its defense industry, has reached a completely new level. This is a fact," noted Pevkur.
