On Wednesday, the newspaper Eesti Ekspress reported that in 2024 Estonia made a deal for shells with Italian-registered company Datasel S.R.L., which is owned by the Indian company Neco Defence Munitions. Neither firm had produced shells before.

Estonia used funding from the EU's European Peace Facility for the advance payments, Ekspress reported.

In August 2024, the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) signed its first sales contract with Datasel and sent the first €15 million payment.

In October 2024, RKIK signed a second contract with Datasel and sent another advance payment of €10 million.

The first batch of ammunition purchased was supposed to reach Ukraine in November, but Datasel reported delays and problems.

Despite this, two more contracts were signed at the end of 2024 and advance payments were made, bringing the total to around €70 million.

The shells did not arrive despite the terms of the contract, and Estonia has now taken the case to the European Court of Arbitration in Strasbourg.

RKIK's current director general, Elmar Vaher – who took up the role this year – told Eesti Ekspress he would not have signed the contract and that the decision was made within a very narrow circle, excluding RKIK's then head of procurement said they knew nothing about it.

RKIK's then director general, Magnus-Valdemar Saar, disputed the claim and told Eesti Ekspress he acknowledged that buying ammunition from third countries entails risks, but said that no major decision was made without the approval of the ministry's leadership.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Kaimo Kuusk told newspaper Postimees that representatives from the company met in Tallinn in spring 2025 to discuss the issues, but in the end the deliveries were canceled altogether.

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