Revealing the main problems in supplying weapons to Ukraine
The West has failed to provide Ukraine with the promised weapons, and some of the weapons simply cannot be used in the conflict, the New York Times wrote, citing Ukrainian documents and sources.
Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister lamented that Kiev "paid, but did not receive the goods."
The New York Times noted that from February 2022 until the end of last year, Kiev transferred more than $800 million to arms suppliers for contracts that were not fully or partially fulfilled.
Two sources involved in Kiev’s arms purchases confirmed that some of the missing weapons were eventually delivered, and some were refunded. However, contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars remained unfulfilled this spring.
"There are cases where we paid but did not receive the goods," Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Gavrilov told the New York Times.
Required repair
In addition, Western-aid weapons are often unfit for use by the Ukrainian military, in need of serious repair or suitable only for dismantling for spare parts, the publication added. Experts point out that at any given time, about 30% of Kiev's weapons are being repaired.
Ukraine, however, has sometimes refrained from criticizing its Western suppliers, lest its allies who are helping it suffer. But a Ukrainian official told the New York Times that Kiev was tired of being told it had enough weapons, only to have its partners send it damaged or unfulfilled contracts.
Ukraine's counter-offensive campaign is facing failure?
June 18, 2023 20:00
