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🇪🇪 Estonia /Conflict & Security

Anatomy of a wild arms-buying mission: “Of course there were risks, half the sellers were killers”

From Postimees · () Estonian

Translated from Estonian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Estonia spent several years buying ammunition for Ukraine and its own forces from suppliers ranging from Kenya to Sri Lanka.
  • Some suppliers were viewed as partly or strongly sympathetic to Russia, and military police sometimes accompanied the buyers for protection.
  • The project was initially seen as a success but ultimately ended in failure and a minister’s resignation.

Estonia’s ammunition-buying effort took officials from the slums of Kenya to Sri Lanka in search of supplies for Ukraine and for Estonia itself. Some of the countries involved were more or less sympathetic to Russia.

The missions carried obvious risks. Military police sometimes traveled with the buyers to protect them from being killed. The project could therefore be presented as an Estonian success story, but it was also packed with danger.

In the end, the risky venture became a major fiasco and led to a minister’s resignation. Over the past two years, the story has gradually faded from view.

Of course there were risks, half the sellers were killers.

· Not identified in the provided textThe headline’s description of the dangers surrounding Estonia’s international ammunition purchases.
About this summary

Originally published by Postimees in Estonian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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