“The Biden administration has earmarked $3.8 billion for military aid to Ukraine. But due to management errors of the Ministry of Defense, the funds will remain unused, and from January 20, their distribution will depend on the new US president. Darya Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Center, stated about critical management errors in the Ministry of Defense, due to which Ukraine risks losing billions of dollars. As early as the summer of 2023, about […]”, — write: businessua.com.ua
The Biden administration has earmarked $3.8 billion for military aid to Ukraine. But due to management errors of the Ministry of Defense, the funds will remain unused, and from January 20, their distribution will depend on the new US president. Darya Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Center, stated about critical management errors in the Ministry of Defense, due to which Ukraine risks losing billions of dollars
As early as the summer of 2023, activists and experts warned about the risk of losing these funds. She reminded me about it Darya Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Center. In her post on Facebook, she noted that the problem was brought to the attention of top state officials a few months ago. However, Rustem Umerov and his team assured that everything is under control and the money will be used.
“Political leaders can promise anything, but without the efficient work of the bureaucracy, these promises remain only empty promises,” Kaleniuk emphasizes. According to her, the Ministry of Defense ignored recommendations to create a separate department that would deal with issues of US military assistance. As a result, according to Kaleniuk, only 1-2 people were involved in this work, and there was practically no coordination with American partners.
Minister Umerov, believing that his telephone conversations and meetings with the Pentagon leadership would be enough, did not ensure a clear organization of the process. This led to the fact that the ministry could not process the bureaucratic requirements of the US in a timely manner. Moreover, as of August 2024, the department had not even identified a person responsible for the issue of international military aid.
Functions regarding international cooperation were initially transferred to Deputy Minister Dmytro Klimenkov, who is called a close friend of Umerov. However, due to the low effectiveness of this decision, from October 2024 this responsibility was taken over by the new deputy Serhii Boev. However, time was lost, and the bureaucratic chaos could not be overcome.
We will remind that 3.8 billion dollars is part of the US presidential program, which allows for the quick transfer of weapons to Ukraine from the Pentagon warehouses. But from January 20, 2025, the new US president will receive these powers, and there is a risk that the aid will be suspended. Thus, Ukraine lost a unique opportunity to use these funds on time.
Daria Kaleniuk believes that this failure is only the tip of the iceberg. Systematic management chaos in the Ministry of Defense endangers not only American aid, but also the overall effectiveness of the department’s work in wartime conditions.
Source: kp.ua