Weapons stream. Why did the West talk about controlling the use of Western aid to Ukraine
Voices are becoming louder in the West, concerned about the growth of smuggling of weapons supplied to Ukraine, writes Strana. Serious questions have arisen about the fate of billions of dollars in aid and the resale of weapons to criminals.
Denis Rafalsky, Yulia Korzun
The President's office has taken the initiative to create a temporary special commission in the Verkhovna Rada (VSK), which will deal with issues related to the control of the use of weapons received from Western partners.
This can be considered a response to the increasingly concerned voices in the West, and above all in the United States, about the fate of weapons supplied to Ukraine. Traditionally, the Ukrainian authorities have called the assumptions about alleged supply fraud, including the resale of weapons to the side, fakes and "Russian narratives." But now we have decided to create a special commission. What is happening now with the topic of gun control, why did it arise and what could be the consequences in its development? The "Country" was being sorted out.
From denial to the special commission
The discussion about the fate of Western weapons supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine flared up just last week. There were some conversations on this topic before, but everything was quiet and usually the Ukrainian authorities responded to them with accusations of playing along with Russian propaganda. But the situation changed after the speech of Congresswoman from the Republican Party Victoria Spartz, who hails from Ukraine.
As the "Country" wrote, in an open letter to American President Joe Biden, Spartz expressed complaints about the activities of the head of the OP Andrei Ermak, against whom there are allegedly suspicions of working for Moscow. But it's not just Yermak, as Spartz later explained, but the fact that, according to her, the United States has serious questions about the fate of its billions of dollars worth of military aid.
The Republican insists that Washington does not have the ability to audit supplies after weapons have entered Ukraine. And it may even end up "in Syria and Russia." According to her, the Ukrainian leadership was offered a control mechanism "without unnecessary bureaucracy", but it was rejected at the Bank.
In response to the Spartacus, accusations poured in from Ukraine – including at the official level – of playing along with the Kremlin and trying to undermine the allied relations between Kiev and Washington, as well as disrupt further arms supplies. Colleagues from the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives also criticized her.
But it seems that the White House felt here for itself the danger of getting the issue on the intra-American agenda. Theoretically, it will be easy for Republicans in such statements to shift the focus from Ukraine to Biden and his party. They say that the Democrats do not want to organize proper control over the use of multibillion-dollar Western aid to Ukraine. Therefore, in a statement by the coordinator of the National Security Council under Biden, John Kirby, it was said that the US presidential administration shares the concerns "expressed by members of Congress" about the need for "proper responsibility for the materials that Ukraine receives." Moreover, according to Kirby, Kiev shares the position of controlling the fate of supplies and is "ready to work" with Washington on this issue.
Apparently, there are even more than two sides in this discussion, since the Western press writes about several unnamed NATO member states discussing with Ukraine tightening control over incoming weapons. Even earlier, the European Union expressed concern about the possibility of the withdrawal of organized crime weapons used in Ukraine in Europe.
European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson at a meeting with EU interior ministers in Prague said that the European Union will create a hub in Moldova to prevent the illegal arms trade from Ukraine organized by criminal groups in Europe. She stated that "not all the numerous weapons in Ukraine are in the right hands." "Therefore, together with Ukraine and neighboring Moldova, the EU wants to fight organized crime," she added.
However, there are other voices from Europe. EU Foreign Policy and Security Spokesman Peter Stano said that "Russia has launched an intensive disinformation campaign against Ukraine, the EU and NATO, claiming "arms smuggling" supplied by allies. We have no reason not to trust the government of Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its country and people."
However, such statements did not remove the questions that came from other sources. And, probably, taking into account all these factors, Ermak announced that he would like to propose to the Verkhovna Rada to create a temporary special commission to study "issues related to the control of the use of weapons received from partners." "The Parliament, as a legislative body, should be involved in monitoring the defense assistance of the allies. Our goal is maximum transparency, as far as possible under martial law," Yermak said.
At the same time, he said that all the weapons received are registered, "and now this process will become even more open." And this, according to Ermak, is "the best recipe against Russian manipulation and fakes." "The White House reacted because the threat of a new reason for an inter-party struggle loomed. But in the interests of the Democratic Party, Ukraine should also offer something constructive in response to criticism. So that there are no questions why, in the light of bad suspicions and fears, Washington continues to help Kiev as if nothing had happened," said political analyst Vadim Karasev.
The timing varies
Now more about the mechanism of parliamentary control proposed by Ermak. According to the regulations, the Rada creates the VSC by adopting an appropriate resolution, which describes the composition of the commission, tasks, work period and report.
The commission is formed taking into account the principle of proportional representation of parliamentary factions and groups. The Chairman of the VSK, his deputy and the secretary of the commission may not belong to the same faction or depgroup.
The commission must report on the work performed within the period specified when creating the VSC, but no later than six months after voting for it. After discussing the results of the VSK in the relevant committees and at the plenary session, the Rada votes for the dissolution of the commission or for the continuation of its work for a certain period.
Pavel Frolov, a member of the committee on rules of procedure, parliamentary ethics and organization of work of the Verkhovna Rada ("Servant of the People", CH), who heads the regulatory subcommittee specifically, informed the Country that his committee would take over procedural issues in the matter of convening the VSK. "It is impossible to initiate the creation of the commission from the outside. I can predict that our faction will most likely submit the application, and the committee secretariat will prepare the necessary papers. So far, the chairman of the committee has not painted anything on the members of the committees, although he does not send all the documentation received by the committee to the general mailing list," the parliamentarian told us.
At the same time, he considers the VSK to be a "fairly effective tool" of parliamentary control. "For example, the Investor Protection Commission, headed by my colleague Galina Yanchenko, is very effective," said Deputy Frolov, recalling the recent creation of the VSK on International Humanitarian and Criminal Law, headed by Alexander Bakumov.
In a comment to the Country, the representative of the President of Ukraine in the KSU, MP Fyodor Venislavsky (SN), who is on the defense committee, believes that not only the SN, but "almost all political forces represented in parliament" will support the idea of the commission on Western supplies. "Therefore, this issue can be resolved quickly. I think that a week or two will pass from the moment of registration of the initiative – if there is one – to the moment of voting for the VSK. Ukraine's further receipt of the necessary weapons depends on this. Therefore, I think that there will be no problems with the creation of such a commission. Of course, it is necessary to demonstrate at the level of parliamentary control that incoming weapons are going to the front and our partners have no reason to worry," Deputy Venislavsky told us.
"We will definitely create this VSK, there is no desire to put it on the brakes. The problem is for competent people to enter there. And for the most part they are already employed in some other commissions, including those that remain exclusively on paper. It is necessary to withdraw them from the composition or even dissolve these commissions, and this is not done quickly. I assume that by the end of July, the issue of creation will be resolved: not at the next meeting, but most likely in one," says a source in the leadership of the CH.
At the same time, as the head of the CH faction David Arakhamiya told the Country, the people's deputy from the Voice party took the initiative to create the commission. "We are currently preparing proposals for future members of the commission from our faction. If everyone submits candidates on time, in principle, we will vote for its creation next Monday or Tuesday," Arahamiya assured the Country. "David himself does not want to deal with this issue," says an interlocutor in the CH faction close to Arahamiya, without specifying details.
Smoldering question
Why did OP choose the VSK option in response to Western demands for supply supervision? According to political analyst Ruslan Bortnik, the commission's reports will be a documentary confirmation – primarily for the West – of the targeted use of incoming weapons. "They will be able to say: here, our actions are transparent to the allies," the expert comments to the Country.
But there is another aspect. The commission will include representatives of various parliamentary factions, as well as other branches of government. "This will allow the OP to share responsibility for the situation with weapons with all of them, so that no one "shakes" it, does not snitch on the leadership of the Office to Western embassies and high-ranking visitors. And here we mean not only political opponents, but also "traitors" within the power team itself. The VSK will be a kind of political safety net," says Bortnik to the Country. At the same time, he doubts that with the creation of the VSK, the issue of accounting for weapons will lose relevance.
Attention to it will be supported by Russia, which needs to discredit Ukraine in this regard, and Western allies concerned about the fate of weapons. "Discussion, scandals around this topic will become a constant background. Moscow will try to expose Kiev as an unreliable ally of the West, which resells supplies to the side and even to the Russians themselves. Western Europe will want to make sure that this is not the case. The Biden administration has a trail of the sad Afghan experience, when billions of dollars worth of military equipment were abandoned. In order for the Republicans not to add suspicions about Ukraine to this (they say, look, American taxpayers, where your money goes!), the Democrats will have to come back to this issue every now and then. We are waiting for a long series," Bortnik believes.
Given that the majority in the parliamentary commission, as usual, will be from the "servants of the people", it is not difficult to assume with what conclusions the report will be approved. Another question is that Poroshenko's people who entered there may try to "shake their head," but in this case they risk running into accusations of playing along with the Kremlin. Since it is clear that any doubts about the targeted use of Western aid may call into question further arms supplies.
It is also obvious that not everyone in the West will believe the conclusions of this commission. And the same Republicans can continue to raise the issue. But in reality, this will have little effect on Washington's policy regarding support for Ukraine. The only thing that can slow it down is the scandal associated with proven accusations that weapons "go to the left." But so far there are none.
However, as a source in political circles tells the "Country", there is a danger for the Ukrainian authorities that the Americans at some stage will want to start controlling supplies themselves or force Kiev to report to some special Congressional commission.
"The creation of the parliamentary commission of the Verkhovna Rada is one thing. It is clear what her report will be. But if Washington suddenly wants to control the use of aid itself, there may be a very serious conflict with the Ukrainian authorities. Because controlling the consumption of something during a conflict is extremely difficult and extremely unpleasant for those who are being checked. Imagine, for example, that Roosevelt would demand from Stalin a report on how he used the trucks and planes transferred to him under lend-lease. Therefore, the main thing for Zelensky now is not to allow the topic with doubts about the targeted use of Western aid to reach a level where there will be a question of external control. And the creation of a parliamentary commission is one of the ways to stop this potentially dangerous topic in the bud," the source says.
