Washington Post on supply of defective mines to Ukrainian Armed Forces: This could destroy partners’ trust in Kyiv
Ukrainian anti-corruption activists are calling for a criminal investigation to be launched against senior officials of Ukraine's defence ministry on charges of high treason over the failure to fire or malfunction tens of thousands of Ukrainian-made mortar shells that are crucial to defending the country against Russian troops.
This is reported by the Washington Post, Censor.NET informs.
According to the newspaper, the corruption allegations that plague Ukraine's defence sector are also a potential obstacle to future aid - and future investment in the country's growing defence industry - from Kyiv's international allies.
AntAC's call for an investigation
The Anti-Corruption Action Center, one of Ukraine's leading independent anti-corruption organisations, filed a petition with the Security Service of Ukraine on Monday calling for an investigation into officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Strategic Industries, as well as "Ukroboronprom", the state-owned defence-industrial conglomerate.
According to the AntAC petition, officials of these state bodies "committed a number of actions" that made it impossible to use mortar shells for their intended purpose, damaging "Ukraine's defence capability".
"From the facts already revealed, there is no doubt that the officials responsible for quality control knew about the malfunction of the mortar shells, but deliberately allowed them to be sent to the Armed Forces of Ukraine," said Daria Kaleniuk, the centre's executive director, in an interview.
The AntAC chairman, Vitalii Shabunin, also posted the petition on Facebook. He also published another petition to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, an independent state body tasked with fighting bribery, regarding the alleged overpayment of about $90 million to a Polish firm for weapons.
These cases became "two of the bloodiest corruption schemes of 2024," Shabunin wrote.
What is known about the supply of defective mines?
The publication recalls that last month, Ukrainian media reported that a significant number of 120mm mortar shells and a smaller number of 82mm shells that had recently arrived on the front line were defective. These two types of mortar shells are a key element of Ukraine's defence against Russian infantry attacks.
According to local media reports, soldiers from one of the units stated that only one 120mm mortar shell out of every 10 successfully exploded.
The accusations come at a sensitive time for the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian troops are struggling with a shortage of equipment and manpower as they try to hold back the Russian advance along numerous sections of the frontline in Ukraine and Kursk - and Zelenskyy, who has vowed for years to fight for every inch of Ukrainian territory, has recently indicated greater openness to talks to end the war.
It is also noted that allegations of corruption in the defence sector are a key topic of discussion among Republican politicians in the United States who oppose further military support for Ukraine, although these allegations do not concern weapons provided by the West.
What does the Ministry of Defence say about defective mines?
Olena Trehub, a member of the Defence Ministry's group monitoring procurement in the defence sector, stressed that this was just one case in the country's rapidly developing multi-billion dollar defence industry.
"I don't want to support the narrative that we are a corrupt, failed state, because it is not true. Nevertheless, the situation with mortar shells was terrible and dangerous," Ms Tregub said.
"We are concerned because we need them on the frontline," she added, noting that it is "a critical situation if they (the mines - Ed.) do not achieve their goals."
Last month, the Ministry of Defence released a statement acknowledging a "malfunction of 120mm mortar shells" that it is actively investigating.
Preliminary results indicate that the defects were caused by "poor-quality powder charges or violation of ammunition storage conditions," the ministry said. The ministry added that "appropriate personnel decisions" will be made regarding officials found guilty by the investigation.
The Ministry of Defence stated that it had suspended the use of the relevant batches of ammunition and would use imported ammunition instead. The State Bureau of Investigation also opened a criminal investigation.
At the same time, the agency did not specify how many mortar shells were found to be defective, nor did it indicate which officials were being investigated. The name of the mortar shell manufacturer is not disclosed for reasons of national security.
What does Smetanin say about defective mines?
In November, the Minister for Strategic Industries, Herman Smetanin, told the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that almost half of a batch of 54,000 120 mm shells needed to be replaced. However, it was unclear what percentage of the total defective ammunition was accounted for by these rounds.
Ukrainian media reports put the total number of defective 120mm mortar shells at close to 100,000, a number that the Ukrainian military could use up within weeks. While this figure cannot be independently confirmed, a Ukrainian defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said: "The initial contract was for hundreds of thousands of mortar shells, and now we need to import about 20 per cent of that amount."
The official also said that while the investigation into the production of defective shells is ongoing, the company that produced them has not been blacklisted and is now sending proposals for the production of "millions of shells of various calibres".
What does Zavitnevych say about the defective mines?
"Servant of the People" Oleksandr Zavitnevych, who chairs the parliamentary committee on national security, said that the defective shells would be replaced at the manufacturer's expense and that "quality control has been strengthened at all production facilities".
Representatives of the Ukrainian defence industry are also concerned about the impact that allegations of poor quality control could have on Western investment in the Ukrainian defence industry.
"As Ukrainian officials prepare for a possible major cut in Western military aid next year, Kyiv's international partners are sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Ukrainian arms manufacturers - including $800 million from the United States to help Ukraine produce long-range drones. Kyiv also hopes to become a major arms exporter in the coming years," the publication says.
"Even one illegal procurement can destroy the trust of Western partners. We have to correct the mistake and show that this situation will not happen again in the future... Sometimes in the US and Europe, production and technological errors occur. This is also happening in Ukraine because we are under pressure and we are a country at war," said Maryna Bezrukova, head of the Ministry of Defence's armaments procurement department.
Purchase of ammunition for UAH 23 billion without the participation of the Defence Procurement Agency
The other day, Рolitico also wrote about the scandalous decision of the Ministry of Defence to transfer 23 billion hryvnias to the State Border Guard Service for the purchase of shells. The purchase is to be made through the Polish company PHU Lechmar. Border guards said they had been working with Lechmar for three years and that the NATO-certified firm had fulfilled its obligations.
Watchdog organisations accuse the Ministry of Defence of entering into the agreement with Polish Lechmar, as they would prefer Ukraine to avoid using intermediaries and buy weapons directly from manufacturers.
"The main goal of the Defence Procurement Agency was to eliminate intermediary and corruption risks in the Ukrainian state defence order system.
And it did manage to introduce multi-stage checks and harsh penalties. But this has slowed down procurement at a time when the military is in desperate need of ammunition and weapons," the newspaper notes.
Defective mines supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
On 6 November 2024, it was reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine received a low-quality batch of 120 mm mines manufactured by Ukroboronprom.
On 20 November, a video of mines manufactured by "Ukroboronprom" malfunctioning was released.
The Ministry of Defence said it was investigating the situation.
Also, journalist Yulia Kyrienko-Merinova said that after the situation with the low-quality 120mm mortar shells was publicised, a batch of 82mm mortar rounds, which also turned out to be defective, was withdrawn from the frontline.
