Marta Gichko15:47, 06/19/23
Ukraine refrains from complaining about suppliers so as not to aggravate relations with them.
Ukraine did not receive part of the paid weapons, and some of the donated weapons are suitable only for spare parts.
The New York Times writes about this with reference to two interlocutors informed about the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, a top Ukrainian official and official documents of the Ukrainian government.
As of the end of 2022, Kyiv had paid more than $800 million to arms suppliers on contracts that had not been fully or partially fulfilled, according to the government. Informed interlocutors said that some of the missing weapons were eventually delivered, and in other cases, brokers returned the money.
As of early spring 2023, hundreds of millions of dollars had been paid, including to state-owned companies, for weapons that were never delivered, one source said.
Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Gavrilov confirmed that there were cases when Ukraine paid money but did not receive weapons. This year, the government began to analyze its past purchases and exclude problematic contractors.
However, the NYT emphasizes that the scale of arms purchases is very global, so supply problems are inevitable.
“Many of the deliveries from the Western Allies included advanced weapons, such as American air defense systems, which have proven highly effective against Russian drones and missiles. But in other cases, the Allies provided outdated equipment that needed major repairs at best. About 30 percent of Kiev’s arsenal is under repair all the time – a high figure, according to defense experts, for an army that needs any weapon.
For example, during the delivery of 33 self-propelled howitzers donated by the Italian government, it turned out that one of them had problems with the engine, and the other was leaking coolant.
Italy explained that these installations were decommissioned many years ago, but Ukraine asked them to “majorly overhaul and put into operation, given the urgent need for means to counter Russian aggression.” The Ministry of Defense paid $19.8 million for these repairs. In January, 13 of these howitzers were sent to Ukraine, but arrived “unfit for combat missions,” according to a Ukrainian government document.
Ukraine blamed the American repair company for the failure of the contract. Director of the Department of Defense Procurement of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Volodymyr Pikuzo wrote in a letter to the Pentagon Inspector General: “The American company, offering its services, did not intend to fulfill its obligations.”
At the same time, the company denied the accusations, saying that the Ukrainians did not provide proper maintenance of the howitzers after they were handed over. This applies, in particular, to an installation from which coolant leaked after delivery to Ukraine.
According to the NYT, Ukrainian officials have largely refrained from complaining about faulty equipment so as not to embarrass suppliers. A senior Ukrainian official said the government was tired of insisting that Western weapons are enough. Some of the weapons are in unusable condition and are suitable only for spare parts.
Officially, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine did not provide comments on the NYT’s request on this matter.
(C)UNIAN 2023
Go Biden! 😫
Go Turmp?!!!!? WTF. What wit this guy? Slava Ukraini but pro Trump…smh
Prepare for your comment to be deleted. So much for “free speech”.
Interesting.
In a democratic society all opinions are respected, nobody is protected from criticism. In socialist societies any opinion critical of the government is banned. We are no Berts here.
“In a democratic society all opinions are respected”
In a democratic society all opinions are allowed to be expressed. That doesn’t mean they’re all respected – some opinions are pretty f’ing stupid.
Whatever. Censorship is not democratic. And who are you to determine what is stupid and what is not. I see the nightmare of ‘AI’ coming.
“And who are you to determine what is stupid”
That’s just my opinion.
There is a difference between free speech and disrespecting your moderators bert, and saying things about their wives. Everyone reserves the right to refuse service to hooligans and bandits.
Yes, “Go Biden!” – the full article mentions that “As of last week, the United States alone had committed about $40 billion worth of military aid (and more in financial and humanitarian assistance)”.
Regarding the American arms dealer contracted to repair 33 howitzers, but Ukraine said they arrived “not suitable for combat missions”: The Pentagon’s inspector general is investigating the matter.
Note that that’s stuff from Italy – not the US. The US made sure that stuff was in good shape before being delivered.
Here’s the full article:
The NYT stirring shit again?
I don’t think so. 😎
I read this article in the NY Times earlier, and came here to see if it had been posted.
It made me think about the people here who keep saying that the US has equipment stored out in the desert that we should send to Ukraine – the following extract from the full article shows why it’s not that simple. (Link to full article at bottom.)
A Pentagon inspector general’s report released in late May illustrates some of the problems.
Last summer, an American Army unit was ordered to ship 29 Humvees to Ukraine from a depot at Camp Arifjan, a base in Kuwait. Although the unit’s leaders had previously said that all but one of the Humvees were “fully mission capable,” an initial inspection after the orders were received revealed that 26 of them were too broken for combat, according to the Pentagon report.
By late August, contractors had repaired transmissions, dead batteries, fluid leaks, broken lights, door latches and seatbelts on the Humvees, and reported that all 29 were ready for Ukraine. The work was verified by the Army unit in Kuwait.
But when the Humvees reached a staging base in Poland, officials found that the tires on 25 of them were rotten. It took nearly a month to find enough replacement tires, which “delayed the shipment of other equipment to Ukraine and required significant labor and time,” the Pentagon report found.
The same Army unit in Kuwait was also supposed to send six M777 howitzers to Ukraine just weeks after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. As it turned out, however, the howitzers “required extensive maintenance” before they could be shipped, because they had gone without regular service checks for 19 months, the Pentagon report found.
At least one was in such bad shape that it “would have killed somebody” trying to use it, inspectors concluded in March 2022.
Three months later, the howitzers had been repaired and shipped to the staging center in Poland. But officials there still concluded that all six “had faults that made them non-mission capable,” the Pentagon audit found. They were repaired in Poland before being sent to Ukraine.
Still piss-ass support for a nation fighting a supperpower. Where are the BIG toys, Joe?!