https://sputnikglobe.com/20230620/kiev-regime-reportedly-cant-account-for-hundreds-of-millions-in-weapons-1111308886.html
Kiev Regime Reportedly Can’t Account for ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in Weapons
Kiev Regime Reportedly Can’t Account for ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in Weapons
Sputnik International
Kiev has spent “hundreds of millions” on weapons which have yet to materialize, according to a damning new article by a major Western newspaper which reported serious problems throughout the Ukrainian military supply chain.
2023-06-20T01:12+0000
2023-06-20T01:12+0000
2023-06-20T01:11+0000
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volodymyr zelensky
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The Zelensky regime spent “hundreds of millions” on weapons which have yet to materialize, according to a damning new article by a major Western newspaper which reported serious problems throughout the Ukrainian military supply chain.“Ukrainian government documents show that as of the end of last year,” Kiev’s leaders “paid arms suppliers more than $800 million since… February 2022 for contracts that went completely or partly unfulfilled,” the outlet noted.When weapons do show up, their quality is reportedly a major source of frustration.Video of a “recent delivery of 33 self-propelled howitzers donated by the Italian government…. showed smoke billowing from the engine of one, and engine coolant leaking from another,” according to the outlet.In a statement, Italy’s Defense Ministry claimed the vehicles were known to have been decommissioned long ago but that the Kiev regime demanded them regardless. The weapons were always meant “to be overhauled and put into operation,” the ministry insisted, given what it called “the urgent need for means to face the Russian aggression.”But the headaches didn’t end there. Efforts to fix the faulty howitzers were complicated by another setback in January after Zelensky’s officials claimed they paid a US company to carry out the necessary repairs, but 13 of them were still “not suitable for combat missions” when received.In a February letter to the Pentagon’s inspector general, Ukraine’s defense procurement director effectively accused Ultra Defense Corporation of defrauding the Kiev regime of millions of dollars, claiming the Florida-based weapons supplier took $19.8 million of Ukrainian government funds with “no prior intention to fulfill its obligations.”However, the company’s chief executive, Matthew Herring, strenuously denies the accusations.The episode isn’t the only instance where Kiev officials’ stories didn’t exactly match up with the entities they partnered with.The documents, reportedly the product of a government audit this year, “showed that some of the most valuable sets of undelivered contracts are between the Defense Ministry and state-owned Ukrainian arms companies that function as independent brokers.”“In recent months, the ministry has sued at least two of those state firms over unfulfilled contracts, and Ukraine recently announced overhauls aimed at making those companies more efficient,” the outlet reported.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230619/west-touting-kievs-offensive-to-justify-arms-supplies---russian-intelligence-1111305257.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230619/kiev-politically-pushed-by-nato-to-launch-counteroffensive-despite-being-unprepared-1111302819.html
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ukraine, kiev regime, military aid, defense contracts, faulty equipments
ukraine, kiev regime, military aid, defense contracts, faulty equipments
Kiev Regime Reportedly Can’t Account for ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in Weapons
Missing arms shipments, broken-down vehicles, and intra-governmental lawsuits — a new mainstream media report paints a damning portrait of Kiev’s efforts to requisition enough military hardware to keep its floundering counter-offensive going.
The Zelensky regime spent “hundreds of millions” on weapons which have yet to materialize, according to a damning new
article by a major Western newspaper which reported serious problems throughout the Ukrainian military supply chain.
“Ukrainian government documents show that as of the end of last year,” Kiev’s leaders “paid arms suppliers more than $800 million since… February 2022 for contracts that went completely or partly unfulfilled,” the outlet noted.
“We did have cases where we paid money and we didn’t receive,” a deputy Ukrainian defense minister working on arms procurement reportedly confirmed.
When weapons do show up, their quality is reportedly a major source of frustration.
Video of a “recent delivery of 33 self-propelled howitzers donated by the Italian government…. showed smoke billowing from the engine of one, and engine coolant leaking from another,” according to the outlet.
In a statement, Italy’s Defense Ministry claimed the vehicles were known to have been decommissioned long ago but that the Kiev regime demanded them regardless. The weapons were always meant “to be overhauled and put into operation,” the ministry insisted, given what it called “the urgent need for means to face the Russian aggression.”
But the headaches didn’t end there. Efforts to fix the faulty howitzers were complicated by another setback in January after Zelensky’s officials claimed they paid a US company to carry out the necessary repairs, but 13 of them were still “not suitable for combat missions” when received.
In a February letter to the Pentagon’s inspector general, Ukraine’s defense procurement director effectively accused Ultra Defense Corporation of defrauding the Kiev regime of millions of dollars, claiming the Florida-based weapons supplier took $19.8 million of Ukrainian government funds with “no prior intention to fulfill its obligations.”
However, the company’s chief executive, Matthew Herring, strenuously denies the accusations.
“Every single one of them worked when we delivered them,” he reportedly wrote. In a statement which accused the Ukrainians of failing to maintain the weapons upon their arrival, he noted that one howitzer suffered from a coolant leak which “magically appeared after delivery in Ukraine.”
The episode isn’t the only instance where Kiev officials’ stories didn’t exactly match up with the entities they partnered with.
The documents, reportedly the product of a government audit this year, “showed that some of the most valuable sets of undelivered contracts are between the Defense Ministry and state-owned Ukrainian arms companies that function as independent brokers.”
“In recent months, the ministry has sued at least two of those state firms over unfulfilled contracts, and Ukraine recently announced overhauls aimed at making those companies more efficient,” the outlet reported.
