Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur resigned on Wednesday following a scandal involving a botched EU-funded deal to procure artillery shells for Ukraine from an Indian-owned company.
The Estonian Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal investigation into the procurement process, which involved large upfront payments in 2024 for shells that faced delivery delays and quality issues.
Director Ramesh Jayaswal of Jayaswal NECO Industries disputed the allegations, stating that the company supplied shells after quality checks and that contracts were halted due to a lack of funds.