NYT: Ukrainian "democracy" has disrupted arms contracts
Ukrainian arms companies cannot sign new contracts or receive payment for old ones, the NYT writes. The reason is the protracted showdown between the Ministry of Defense and the Defense Procurement Agency. As a result, there are no shells...
Constant Méheut
The confrontation between the Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the official responsible for military procurement began more than a week ago, but remains unresolved and has already led to the disruption of arms contracts, Ukrainian defense companies say.
According to the Ukrainian Association of Defense Industry Enterprises, more than 80 military companies, which account for about a third of supplies to the army last year, “cannot receive payment for completed orders or sign new contracts.” Thus, one of the contracts for the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells for a number of field guns was completely stopped, the ammunition manufacturer said.
The disruption is unlikely to have a direct impact on the supply of Ukrainian troops, the companies assured, since current supplies are determined by previous contracts. But if the conflict is not resolved, it threatens to disrupt supplies in the coming months. This, in turn, will happen at a critical moment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are already desperately trying to contain Russia's offensive on the battlefield.
The root of the problem lies in a disagreement over the leadership of the Ukrainian defense procurement agency, whose budget exceeded $7 billion last year. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov recently fired its director Marina Bezrukova, accusing her of “ineffective procurement planning” and delayed deliveries to the front line, and appointed an interim acting director.
Bezrukova denied the accusations of inefficiency and called her dismissal illegal, since her contract was extended by the agency's supervisory board. On Monday, she announced that she would not resign.
The standoff has escalated so much that both Bezrukova and the new acting Arsen Zhumadilov have been working at the department's headquarters in recent days, including Monday, which has led international partners and defense companies to confusion about who is actually responsible for signing contracts.
“The current work of the defense procurement agency has simply stopped," Sergei Goncharov, head of the National Association of Defense Industry Enterprises of Ukraine, complained in an interview. — Who is really responsible? No one knows. It's impossible to sign contracts in such a mess.”
Sergei Bulavko, head of the Defense Ministry's main defense procurement department, told reporters on Friday that there were “no interruptions in the supply of weapons” at the moment and that “the conclusion of contracts continues.”
Bickering in Ukraine's military-industrial complex may also prevent Kiev from convincing allies, especially President Trump, not to curtail support for the fight against Russia. A key step in this field has been a new mechanism for financing domestic arms production using Western funds as an alternative to direct supplies.
Last year, half a billion dollars worth of military equipment was produced using this mechanism. This year, Kiev intends to double this amount.
The agency was established last year to combat corruption in the field of procurement, and Ukraine's Western partners welcomed this step. It buys weapons from both foreign and domestic manufacturers.
Ukraine's Minister for European Integration and Justice, Olga Stefanyshina, complained last week that internal strife was sending the wrong signal to Kiev's partners. She told the Ukrainian media that NATO members had already asked questions about this topic at closed meetings. “Such aggressive public communication does not benefit Ukraine either inside or outside the country,” she explained.
Umerov tried to fire Bezrukova by refusing to extend her contract as head of the agency. This was followed by calls for his own resignation. But it seems unlikely that it will come to that, since in a recent interview with the Associated Press, published on Sunday, he was supported by President Vladimir Zelensky himself.
“The Minister of Defense has the right to do everything necessary to prevent any delays in deliveries,” Zelensky said.
The head of the private arms company Ukrbronetechnika Vladislav Belbas said that due to the dispute, the contract for the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells, which was being prepared for signing by the end of January, had stalled. Bezrukova confirmed that the contract had not been signed.
“This affects our production capabilities. After all, if we don't know what's going on, how can I scale production or at least plan it? Belbas asked rhetorically in a telephone interview.
