Ukraine lost $770 million on failed arms supply deals – FT

Ukraine, in a war with Russia, which has resource and financial advantages, is constantly looking for suppliers and donors of weapons, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine urgently need. However, some of the arms deals, hastily concluded over the past three years, are not being fulfilled for various reasons. As of now, the amount of financed deals for which weapons have not been supplied has exceeded 770 million US dollars. This is stated in the investigation of the Financial Times, UNN reports. 

DetailsFT investigators refer to government documents obtained as a result of a data leak, court case materials and dozens of interviews with procurement officials, arms dealers and manufacturers.

In search of weapons and ammunition, the investigation says, Ukrainian officials have fallen into the whirlpool of the ruthless whims of the international arms market. In several cases, Kyiv paid large sums in advance to little-known companies for weapons that were never delivered to Ukraine – for various reasons.

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In other cases, officials said, weapons were sold to Ukraine at significantly inflated prices due to a surge in global demand. There are also cases where weapons and ammunition supplied under agreements arrived in unusable condition.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, cited by investigators, to date, Ukraine has paid 770 million dollars in advance to foreign brokers for weapons that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not received. This is a significant part of Ukraine’s annual arms budget, which amounts to 6-8 billion dollars from its own financial resources alone.

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At the same time, internal squabbles and corruption on the part of Ukrainian officials and state arms brokers, which caused some of the “missing millions”, complicate the problem.

RecallUkraine has launched the production of CZ Bren 2 assault rifles under the name “Sich”, which are already being supplied to the Armed Forces. This modern weapon has a modular design and is produced at Ukroboronprom’s facilities.