"The truth is that this was already discussed inside the government a year ago, when the military advice from the head of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) was deliberately rejected by the government," Reinsalu said.

"I also put a question to [Minister of Defense Hanno] Pevkur (Reform) about the military advice that summer, the answer was completely meaningless, but Pevkur, out of caution, withheld the answer. We are being lied to right now."

"So for me it is a very serious security issue that the prime minister of a country in such a dangerous situation lies to us about matters of national defense in order to embellish the situation or justify their omissions." Reinsalu continued.

According to Reinsalu, the situation highlights the lack of trust in regard to national defense.

"Our security is based on trust. I think that clarity is needed on this matter and I am convinced that the prime minister cannot continue in office in this way," the Isamaa chair said.

"One honest official, in order to warn us, has resigned. In response to the government's failure to act for a year, the minister lies that she read about Salm's concerns in a newspaper," Reinsalu added. "The prime minister should resign."

"We need clarity on how the government then handled the advice on the need for ammunition," Reinsalu said.

In an interview with ERR, Reinsalu said that a loan should be take out to cover the country's defense needs. "This financial means have to be found and there is no point in fooling around here, as the prime minister said, that the car tax should be raised fivefold – we need to take out a one-off national defense loan that's the whole story!"

Taking out a loan to buy ammunition makes sense in his view as it would be a one-off expenditure, Reinsalu added. In addition to ignoring Estonia's need for ammunition, Reinsalu also had other concerns.

"After all, the government allowed the defense minister to adopt a four-year development plan for the defense ministry weeks ago, which will reduce the capability needs that have been planned for a four-year period by almost €400 million."

"And that, of course, is complete and utter stupidity. I think it may also have been a trigger for the outgoing permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defense that, with reference to the projected fall in GDP, $173 million (USD) has been deducted and the money for military aid to Ukraine has been written off as money for developing the necessary capabilities of our own defense forces," Reinsalu said.

"In other words, the government has very sadistically matched the funds for Ukrainian military aid that the government has made the political decision to provide and, in effect, weakened our own capability needs. Of course, resources for Ukraine have to be found, but not at the expense of our own resources from the National Defense Development Program," he added.

The Estonian Ministry of Defense's Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm, who announced his resignation on Wednesday, cited an inability to explain to the government the need for additional defense investment as the reason behind his decision.

"It's really serious, I'm really concerned about it. We are not €1.6 billion short of an ideal situation or ticking a box, it is missing from the minimum amount Estonia needs to be able to cope militarily before NATO troops arrive. This is not something that has come out of thin air, it comes from those same NATO defense plans. This is an extremely serious matter," Salm told ERR.

Prime Minister Kallas said at a government press conference on Thursday that neither she, nor the government as a whole was deserving of such these accusations.

An ERR journalist asked Kallas whether the government agrees with Kusti Salm's statement.

"We have read this in the press. We have asked both Kusti Salm and (Estonian Defense Forces Chief Gen.) Martin Herem about the things we have read in the press, and the finance minister has sat down and made a plan," Kallas replied. "These accusations are over the top and I don't understand why they are being made. We haven't been able to have a debate to ask these same questions."

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