Estonia terminated Ukraine arms purchases worth 71 million euros, court cases underway
The State Defence Investment Centre (RKIK) has terminated seven of 27 arms procurement contracts concluded for Ukraine and has taken five of them to court. The value of the problematic contracts exceeds 71 million euros.
Estonia terminated seven Ukraine arms procurement contracts, court to decide fate of over 71 million euros
According to ERR News, the State Defence Investment Centre (RKIK) has concluded a total of 27 contracts aimed at procuring weapons or ammunition for Ukraine. Seven of these have been terminated and five have already reached court.
RKIK director Elmar Vaher told ERR's morning programme on Friday that with the problematic contracts, "things did not go as we wished — the goods did not reach Ukraine." The total value of all 27 contracts is approximately 350 million euros.
Court cases and their values
In the case of four contracts concluded with one company, RKIK turned to international arbitration. In the joint contract case of two companies, the matter was brought to Harju District Court. The total value of these five proceedings is 59.8 million euros.
In addition, RKIK has terminated two contracts with two other companies, for which court materials are currently being prepared with a combined value of 11.8 million euros.
Vaher noted that court proceedings are expected either at the end of this year or in the beginning of next year.
Poor quality shells and advance payments to Indian businessmen
Recently it emerged that Estonia has paid a total of 70 million euros for shells intended for Ukraine which the state has not received. Due to poor manufacturing quality, the use of these shells could be dangerous or ineffective.
In Vaher's assessment, it was unwise to conclude contracts and make advance payments to a shelf company whose sole purpose was to act as an intermediary in the European Union. On Wednesday it became clear that Estonia attempted to buy shells from Indian businessmen who allegedly had not previously sold any shells.
"The contracts were already in such a condition that there was not much more to be done, and we had to begin protecting our rights," said Vaher. He added that negotiations had to be ended with dignity, but the court route was unavoidable.
EU funding restrictions closed other options
Vaher explained that clear European Union restrictions apply to the use of foreign funds, which do not allow flexible decision-making—unlike Estonia's own funded procurements.
"One of the restrictions is time, and that time ran out. Procurements had to be carried out within a specific timeframe, deliveries had to take place at precisely specified times. When this did not happen, it was one of the reasons for terminating the contracts. But the most important reason was still that the goods shown are not what Ukraine needs to win the war," Vaher explained.
Therefore, at present the only option is to demand the money back.
Previous decisions undocumented, staff departed
Many of the employees who concluded the contracts have left RKIK, including former director general Magnus-Valdemar Saar. Vaher said he did not know whether Saar's departure was related to the problematic contracts. "How they thought and what was the basis for such conduct is a matter of their conscience," he said.
The State Audit Office has found that previous decisions made by RKIK in 2024 and 2025 cannot be reproduced—there is no overview of why certain decisions were made.
"Investigative journalism has clearly shown that our decisions and conduct are not documented. This needs to be done better," Vaher acknowledged and praised journalists for their work.
Vaher learned of the problematic contracts on his first working day. Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur had directed him to deal with the situation and protect rights.
Criminal proceedings initiated, defence minister steps down
On Tuesday, the prosecutor's office initiated criminal proceedings to investigate circumstances concerning the defence ministry's sphere of governance which emerged in State Audit Office audits both this year and last year. No one has yet been charged criminally.
On Wednesday, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced he is stepping down from office. Pevkur has been defence minister since 2022.
Source: ERR News