“The repair of all ammunition takes place 100% at the manufacturer’s expense, the Ministry of Strategy and Industry says”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to him, the low-quality 120-millimeter mines, which were previously reported by the mass media, had a number of inconsistencies in the design requirements.
Smetanin reminded that 15 batches of such mines, namely 54 thousand ammunition, got into the army, they were recalled and sent to the manufacturer for further processing.
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Industry, the outer diameter of the mine did not meet the design requirements, the powder in the powder charges did not have the required humidity, and problems with the capsules, which did not work, were also discovered.
After the mines are returned, their outer diameter and shank diameter are 100% checked. The powder charges had a problem with the packaging, which was of poor quality. Currently, they have been replaced with those that can store mines for 10 years in a packaged form, said Smetanin. Also, the capsules were replaced with capsules of a European manufacturer.
Currently, according to the minister, 1,400 replaced ammunition have already been delivered to the troops, who checked them, says Herman Smetanin. After that, recommendations were made in the production of mines, and 32,400 such mines have already been manufactured and are being shipped to the troops.
Currently, 10% of the old mines have been replaced and the process is ongoing. The repair of all ammunition takes place 100% at the manufacturer’s expense, the Ministry of Strategy and Industry says.
“There are competent bodies that are investigating this issue, and they will determine whether there was intent,” Herman Smetanin said.
Open criminal proceedings. The law enforcement officers should establish all the details, and the court should determine the culprits, then appropriate decisions will be made, said the Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine.
The one-time dismissal of the management of the plants will not contribute to their scaling, said Smetanin, answering the question of the correspondent of Radio Svoboda about responsibility and personnel decisions.
The Ministry of Defense announced on November 26 that for the third week it is actively investigating the causes of the abnormal activation of 120 mm mines. According to the department, the preliminary results of the investigation of the interdepartmental commission on the supply of low-quality mortar mines indicate the possible causes of defects, in particular, low-quality powder charges or violations of the storage conditions of ammunition, which led to their damage. The State Bureau of Investigation has started criminal proceedings on this fact.
Before that, military observer Yuriy Butusov published fragments of the video, which, according to him, were sent to him by mortar fighters. These shots show how the mine, before it had time to fly out of the mortar, falls a few meters after the shot.