Ukraine did not receive some weapons it paid for, and some of donated weapons are unusable – NYT

Ukraine did not receive some of the weapons it paid for, and some donated weapons are only good to be disassembled for spare parts.

Source: The New York Times, citing two sources familiar with the purchase of arms in Ukraine, a high-ranking Ukrainian official and official documents of Ukraine’s government 

Details: According to the NYT, official Ukrainian government documents claim that as of the end of 2022, Kyiv had paid arms suppliers more than USD 800 million for contracts that were not fully or partially fulfilled.

Two of the NYT’s sources involved in arms purchases for Ukraine said some missing weapons were eventually delivered, and in other cases, brokers returned the money.

One of them added that as of early spring 2023, hundreds of millions of dollars had been paid, including to state-owned companies, for weapons that had never been delivered.

Volodymyr Havrylov, Deputy Minister of Defence, who deals with arms procurement, said there were cases when Ukraine paid money, but did not receive weapons. According to him, this year, the government began to analyse its past purchases and exclude problematic contractors.

At the same time, the NYT notes that problems are inevitable in such a large-scale arms purchase as in Ukraine.

Quote from NYT: "Many of the transfers from Western allies have involved modern weapons like American air defence systems that have proven highly effective against Russian drones and missiles. But in other cases, allies have provided stockpiled equipment that, at best, needed extensive overhauls.

As much of 30 per cent of Kyiv’s arsenal is under repair at any given time — a high rate, defence experts said, for a military that needs every weapon it can get for its developing counteroffensive."

More details: The publication cites the delivery of 33 self-propelled howitzers donated by the Italian government as an example. Judging by the video, smoke was billowing from the engine of one, and engine coolant leaking from another.

The Italian Ministry of Defence stated that these installations were decommissioned many years ago, but Ukraine still asked them to be "overhauled and put into operation, given the urgent need for means to face the Russian aggression."

Ukrainian government documents show that the Ministry of Defence paid US$19.8 million to an American arms dealer, Ultra Defense Corporation, to repair 33 howitzers. In January, 13 of these howitzers were sent to Ukraine, but arrived "unfit for combat missions," as stated in one of the documents.

Ukraine accused the American company of failing to finish the job it was supposed to do by late December. 

Volodymyr Pikuzo, Director of the Department of Defence Procurement of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, wrote in a letter to the Inspector General of the Pentagon: "The American company, offering its services, had no intention of fulfilling its obligations."

The executive director of the company denied the accusations, saying that the Ukrainians did not ensure proper maintenance of the howitzers after their transfer. The NYT clarifies that this applies, in particular, to the system with leaking coolant. According to the executive director, this defect "magically appeared after delivery in Ukraine."

Ukrainian officials have mostly refrained from complaining about faulty equipment so as not to embarrass their suppliers.

A high-ranking Ukrainian official said that the government of Ukraine is tired of assurances that the country has enough Western weapons because some of them are in poor or unusable condition, and these are taken out of combat for further disassembly for spare parts.

The NYT reports that the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine declined to comment.

In addition, documents obtained by The New York Times revealed that some of the most expensive unfulfilled contracts are between the Ministry of Defence and state-owned Ukrainian arms companies that operate as independent brokers.

In recent months, the ministry has sued at least two of these state-owned companies over unfulfilled contracts, and Ukraine recently announced reforms to make the companies more efficient.

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