On November 29, 2024, the government headed by Denys Shmyhal, at the suggestion of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, adopted a scandalous decision that led to the redirection of 23 billion hryvnias from the Ministry of Defense to the State Border Service of Ukraine (SBSU) for the purchase of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This decision has already caused outrage among analysts and journalists.
Journalist and military expert Serhiy Zgurets and author of the project “Our Money” Yuriy Nikolov call this situation the biggest “one-time” scam of the year. According to Nikolov, the transfer of funds through the State Bank of Ukraine bears the hallmarks of a classic “cut and paste” scheme with dubious intentions, especially in the context of the upcoming elections.
In addition, Censor.NET journalist Tetyana Nikolayenko investigated why the government made this decision so quickly, and why the contract for the supply of weapons to the State Security Service of Ukraine was awarded to the Polish company PHU Lechmar, which, according to Nikolov, does not have its own production and has a dubious reputation due to supply disruptions during the war.
Another question that arises in the context of this situation is why the procurement was not transferred to the "Defense Procurement Agency", which has the authority to make large arms purchases and ensure their verification for compliance and the integrity of suppliers.
According to information from the General Staff, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are experiencing a significant shortage of anti-tank mines, which makes it difficult to create reliable defensive lines. This situation creates risks if the enemy is able to capture strategic points, for example, Pokrovsk, which would open the way to advance to the Dnieper.
