Ukraine investigates scandal over purchase of 100,000 'ghost mortars'

Ukrainian security agencies discovered a group of officials who overpaid about $40 million for a "ghost contract" to buy 100,000 mortar shells.

"The investigation has exposed the wrongdoings of Defense Ministry officials and managers of the Lviv Arsenal arms supplier, who pocketed nearly 1.5 billion hryvnia ($39.6 million) in a contract to purchase mortar shells," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on January 27.

According to the SBU, the investigation found that a number of former and current senior officials of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry signed a contract to purchase 100,000 mortar shells for the army from Lviv Arsenal in August 2022, six months after the outbreak of hostilities.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense paid the entire amount of the contract in advance to the account of Lviv Arsenal, but the company did not deliver any ammunition, but transferred the money to the account of another affiliated company in the Balkans. The remaining amount remains in Lviv Arsenal's account at a bank in Kiev.

Ukrainian soldiers prepare mortar shells at the front line in Mykolaiv province, Ukraine in October 2022. Photo: Reuters

The SBU said it was investigating five officials at the Defense Ministry and the Lviv Arsenal for alleged involvement in the corruption. One suspect was arrested while trying to cross the border.

The corruption scandal is expected to have a major impact in a country besieged by war for nearly two years. Military corruption is a particularly sensitive issue in Ukraine, as the country struggles to maintain its wartime morale and aspires to join the European Union.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was dismissed last September over multiple corruption cases within the force he led. Reznikov himself has not been accused of corruption, but several cases have occurred within his group of officials.

Huyen Le (According to Reuters, Pravda )

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