According to Ukraine’s security agency, a group of individuals involved with a Ukrainian armaments company and the defense ministry stole about $40 million that was supposed to be used to purchase 100,000 mortar rounds for the conflict with Russia.
Last month, the SBU said that five individuals had been indicted, with one individual being apprehended while attempting to cross the Ukrainian border. They face twelve years in jail.
According to a report, the United States is ill-equipped to monitor the large quantity of anti-tank, anti-aircraft, and other weaponry it has sent into Ukraine. This oversight is largely attributable to the absence of American forces stationed in the country and the mobility of many of the smaller equipment currently being transferred across the border.
In its pursuit of expedited admission into the EU and NATO, Ukraine is attempting to crack down on corruption, which has prompted the inquiry.
Before Ukraine can join either alliance, officials from the other have demanded extensive anti-graft crackdowns.
Reports reveal that before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been elected in 2019 on a platform of anti-corruption.
The recent dismissals of high-ranking officials, including Ivan Bakanov, who had been head of the country’s Security Service in 2022, have been presented as evidence of their determination to combat corruption.
According to security authorities, the present probe began in August 2022, when officials inked a deal with the armaments manufacturer Lviv Arsenal for artillery rounds valued at $40 million. It was planned that after the firm received payment, its workers would send the money to an international corporation that would then ship the munitions to Ukraine.
Detectives claim that the funds were routed to other locations in Ukraine and the Balkans region instead of receiving the products. The prosecutor general asserts that the confiscated funds will be transferred to the military budget of Ukraine.
