Estonia: Government agrees to buy ammo for EUR 1.1bn by 2028

The Estonian government has agreed to allocate EUR 1.1bn for the purchase of ammunition until 2028, Education Minister Kristina Kallas announced, ERR reports. Earlier, the three-party coalition had agreed to spend altogether EUR 1.6bn on procuring ammunition. Kallas said that the remaining amount would be up to the next government. Earlier, Brigadier General Andrus Merilo, commander of the Estonian Defence Forces (Kaitsevägi, EDF), insisted that EUR 1.6bn of ammunition was needed to prevent a future war being fought on Estonian territory. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur estimated that the government would purchase ammunition for a total of EUR 3bn over 2022-2028, ERR reported. He assured that the government would procure the ammunition that EDF has requested, but added that a balance was needed between financial security and national defence. Pevkur stressed that the focus should be on the actual effect of the new capacity.