Hanno Pevkur (Reform) told Delfi that the entire €1.6 billion has already been committed through orders.

Pevkur stated that as a former employee of the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK), Kusti Salm should understand how ammunition procurement works. "If he claims as a fact that nothing has been ordered, then on the contrary — the fact is that it has been ordered," Pevkur remarked.

He explained that ammunition procurement follows a process where orders are placed first and contracts are finalized once it is clear when manufacturers can produce and deliver the ammunition.

"In this sense, if you look at the timeline, the government approved the €1.6 billion in September, and from there, you can see month by month what has been done," the minister said, referring to his social media post on Saturday.

Pevkur added that the delivery of ammunition will depend on manufacturers' production and supply capabilities.

"The fact is that the entire €1.6 billion has been allocated for orders and the exact timing of deliveries depends entirely on the manufacturers and how the Estonian Center for Defense Investments finalizes the specific procurement contracts," Pevkur told Delfi.

"If we only received this decision in September and then started placing orders, it's important to understand that specific types of long-range ammunition, air defense munitions and short-range air defense munitions are not something you can just go and pick up immediately. Negotiations are necessary. First, there is the Letter of Request (LOR), meaning an official request is submitted. Then, we need a response from the manufacturer. Depending on that response, the process may involve a framework agreement, a mini-procurement or another approach. Only after that do we reach a finalized contract and deliveries can begin," Pevkur explained.

On Sunday, Kusti Salm published a critical social media post, claiming that not a single cent of the €1.6 billion allocated for ammunition procurement has been spent so far.

"It is very difficult to stay silent after seeing the minister's remarks yesterday regarding the €1.6 billion ammunition procurement. The fact is that as of today, the defense minister has ordered zero euros' worth of ammunition despite the EDF commander's advice last fall, and in my view, this is completely irresponsible given the current situation. For Estonia, this is an absolutely existential issue," Salm wrote on social media.

"The minister also handles the argument of state secrecy far too lightly, as if it prevents him from discussing these matters. But instead of hiding necessary actions — what state secrecy is actually meant for — it is being used to conceal inaction. Unfortunately, I must point out that the defense minister's pattern remains exactly the same as last summer: an excess of words, but no concrete actions," Salm added.

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