Retired General Slams $207M Deal for Outdated Weapons Amid Corruption Scandals
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Ukraine's Defense Ministry Under Fire for Buying WWII-Era Mines |
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry wasted funds on the purchase of World War II anti-tank mines filled with outdated explosives, retired general Sergey Krivonos stated.
Earlier in the month, news sources stated that Ukraine's Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) agreed to buy hundreds of thousands of WWII-era M6A2 anti-tank mines. The agreement is worth more than €200 million ($207 million), with each mine costing approximately $622. The reports were according to an official tender published last month by DPA chief Marina Bezrukova.
In an interview with the Ukrainian YouTube channel 'Fabrika Novyn' on Friday, the retired general clarified that TNT, the explosive in the mines, has a 35-year shelf life if stored properly. "Well, it has been many more years since World War II," he continued, questioning how effective Kiev's newly bought weapons are.
Krivonos, Ukraine's ex-deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, accused Kiev's military leaders of squandering funds. They bought "crap" that will cause "a lot of headaches," he asserted.
His claims come after Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov reported that Kiev's soldiers were given defective hand grenades with a substance similar to instant noodles or corn flour instead of explosive substance.
Last year, Butusov started a big scandal about bad 120mm and 82mm artillery mines made by the Ukrainian state arms company Ukroboronprom. Soldiers said there were many problems with the weapons not working.
Last October, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that about 20% of all ammunition used by Kiev’s armed forces did not explode.
Umerov, who has long criticized the DPA, an independent agency that is NATO standards compliant, said last month he would not extend the contract of the agency chief Bezrukova.
Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) launched the probe against Umerov. They accused him of abuse of authority, under which he can be jailed for three to six years. The US and EU-funded anti-corruption campaign group, the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), further alleged that Umerov attempted to sabotage NATO-style defense purchase reforms.
The Defense Ministry of Ukraine has been beset by high-profile corruption scandals in recent years. Umerov's predecessor, former Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov, stepped down in 2023 amid a scandal over expensive food contracts for the armed forces.