Pevkur says state centre handled Ukraine ammunition deals

Estonia’s State Defence Investment Centre handled offers and contracts related to ammunition sent to Ukraine, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said in written comments to ERR.

Pevkur said it was logical for him, as minister, to stay informed about the state of aid to Ukraine because pressure to support the country was high in Estonia, Ukraine and internationally.

He said ammunition offers reached the centre through various channels, including his and the chancellor’s email addresses, as well as directly. Regardless of how the offers arrived, he said, selecting the aid was the responsibility of the State Defence Investment Centre.

When ammunition was suitable for both Ukraine and Europe, the centre’s task was to agree contract details with suppliers and sign the contracts. The centre also kept the ministry informed of developments, Pevkur said.

He said an investigation should clarify the specific details of the ammunition deals and related contracts.

Pevkur also responded to claims by the centre’s former head, Magnus-Valdemar Saar, that the final two deals in the Datasel case were carried out at the minister’s personal initiative and that Pevkur had a particular interest in concluding them through the Greek company Nordeto, which was previously unknown to the centre.

Pevkur said Nordeto’s offer was sent to his and the chancellor’s email addresses on the evening of October 28, 2024, and that he forwarded it to the centre’s head the following morning. Nordeto later sent further offers addressed to Saar as well.

According to Pevkur, the centre’s head replied to the first Nordeto offer that the centre had a direct contract with the manufacturer, Datasel, for the same products. In one contract, the centre had used an intermediary, making it a three-party agreement, he said.

No contract was signed with Nordeto. However, the State Defence Investment Centre signed two additional contracts with Datasel in December 2024. Pevkur said it had since emerged that Datasel was not the manufacturer.

Pevkur added that Chancellor Kusti Kuusk contacted the Estonian Internal Security Service about Datasel as early as November 2024.

On the division of responsibilities, Pevkur said the centre had responded clearly to an inquiry from the ministry’s chancellor in November 2024. The response stated that decisions were made by Magnus Saar and Katri Raudsepp, who were also responsible for negotiations, supported by Merle Vilu and Meelika Piht.

Pevkur said many people had worked hard to send aid to Ukraine, and that Estonia had supplied ammunition worth hundreds of millions of euros.

He said the aid had saved hundreds, if not thousands, of Ukrainian lives. Pevkur called it regrettable that a company had failed to fulfil its promises and said he hoped Datasel understood that its actions meant Ukrainian defenders were being lost every day.

Pevkur said Datasel had emailed government and parliament members that afternoon, expressing a desire to end the dispute through negotiations. If the company could prove this through its actions, he said, it would be welcome because Ukraine needed ammunition. Otherwise, legal disputes over alleged breaches of contract and an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office would continue.

“We should not argue among ourselves about who did what on which date, but focus on how to provide more help to Ukraine,” Pevkur said, adding that the opposition, led by Urmas Reinsalu, should also understand this.