Ukraine has built a defense industry stamping out thousands of artillery shells, armored vehicles and drones in a dizzying array of models and capabilities. It is broadly seen as a key success in fighting the Russian invasion.
But as billions of dollars flow from the Ukrainian military to domestic arms makers, with funding assistance from European donors, much of the spending is shrouded in wartime secrecy. That worries analysts and activists who say that Ukraine has made little progress in reining in a long history of corruption in military procurement.
One focus of concern for government auditors reviewing military spending is Kyiv’s repeated awarding, without explanation, of contracts to companies that made higher bids than their competitors. Internal government audits reviewed by The New York Times show dozens of such contracts signed over a period of a little over a year, as well as cases of late or incomplete deliveries and prepayments for weaponry that never arrived.
The awarding of contracts to higher bidders does not by itself indicate corruption or avoidable overspending. But the audits illustrate a challenge for Ukraine as it pivots away from reliance on donations of ammunition and weaponry from allies, given fickle backing from the Trump administration and limited European military ability. It is turning instead to domestic production and international arms markets, including in deals partly financed by European countries under several programs.
Kyiv is now self-sufficient for nearly 60 percent of its armaments, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said last month. The country’s factories turn out lethal drones, ground robots and a panoply of conventional howitzers, armored vehicles and other weapons. Ukraine has also adapted cheap consumer drones for missions, saving vast sums of money.
Domestically made weapons will become the bedrock of Ukraine’s future security, Mr. Zelensky said, including as a deterrent to keep the peace once the fighting ends. Former officials and analysts say that executing this strategy, however, requires overcoming the long history of corruption in Ukrainian military procurement.
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The post Internal Audits Shed Light on Ukraine’s Secret Weapons Spending appeared first on New York Times.
