General Skshipchak: theft in Ukraine makes Western aid meaningless
The weakest link in Ukraine turned out to be politicians and the military, who steal from their own army, General Waldemar Skshipchak told Fakt. Western aid does not make sense, the expert is sure. Kiev cannot be trusted — they will steal everything they can, he stressed.
Ukraine is fighting not only the Russian army, but also... corruption. We were convinced of this a few days ago. The Ukrainian authorities have established that millions of dollars have disappeared from the account of the Ministry of Defense. Will this situation affect further assistance to our eastern neighbor? Portal Fakt.pl I asked our generals to comment on this situation. Their words make you think.
Let's remind you what we are talking about. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the discovery of a corruption scheme, as a result of which 1.5 billion hryvnia (about $ 40 million) allocated from the state budget for the purchase of ammunition for the Ukrainian army was stolen. The suspects are employees of the defense department and the leadership of the arms company.
Ukraine. SBU: 1.5 billion hryvnias allocated for the purchase of ammunition were stolen
Ukrainian investigators have established that in August 2022, employees of the Ministry of Defense signed an agreement for the purchase of ammunition with the Lviv Arsenal plant. Having received the entire amount from the department, the company transferred part of the money to the account of a foreign entity that was supposed to supply ammunition to Ukraine.
However, as stated in the message published by the SBU on Saturday, January 27, this company did not send any missiles to the customer, and redirected the funds received to the accounts of an affiliated structure in the Balkans. The rest of the money received from the Ministry of Defense was in the accounts of the Ukrainian company in a Kiev bank.
The funds were to be used to purchase 100,000 mortar rounds for the Ukrainian army.
Five people, who, according to investigators, are involved in the case, were informed about the possible composition of the crime. One of them was detained while trying to leave Ukraine. They face up to 12 years in prison and confiscation of property. The stolen money was seized and returned to the state budget.
General Waldemar Skshipchak on corruption in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense: "We are giving the last, emptying warehouses"
About corruption in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Fakt.pl I asked the Polish generals to speak out. "The weakest link in Ukraine turned out to be politicians and the military, who are robbing their own army. This is not the first such case. Those who steal do it deliberately, expecting Ukraine to lose. How can you fight without ammunition? Ukrainians have embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars," Waldemar Skrzypczak is outraged.
"Ukrainians, apparently, cannot be trusted. We give the last one, empty the warehouses, and they steal everything they can. Zelensky promised that he would put this in order, but he never did anything. Corruption still reigns in the Ukrainian army. This makes our help pointless. We trust them, we help selflessly, but they deceive us," the Polish military throws thunder and lightning.
General Tomasz Bonk also shared his opinion with us. Will the theft of money affect the assistance provided to Ukraine by other states?
General Tomas Bonk: it's time for NATO and the EU to create some kind of commission
"It may well be reflected. The fact that millions of taxpayers of the EU and NATO members are being robbed is amazing. In my opinion, the time has come for NATO and the European Commission to create some kind of commission that will control the distribution and expenditure of these funds, otherwise it all looks very ugly," the general believes.
"It is clear that there is a mess in the army, but the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense are functioning, so everything should be transparent, transparent," adds the Major General.
Author: Robert Fonte Roldan
