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Ukraine reportedly withdrawing 100,000 mortar shells amid faulty ammunition probe

by Martin Fornusek November 26, 2024 1:55 PM 3 min read
A Ukrainian soldier covers his ears during the mortar fire in the direction of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on November 07, 2024. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

An interdepartmental commission is investigating the supply of faulty 120 mm mortar shells to Ukrainian forces after multiple reports of them misfiring, the Defense Ministry announced on Nov. 26.

The statement comes following complaints and videos shared on social media that show the mortar shells not exploding or failing to hit their targets.

The ministry said it had withdrawn the batches of ammunition in question and would instead provide Ukrainian forces with imported shells.

The Dzerkalo Tyzhnia news outlet reported in its investigation that this concerns 100,000 shells that would last for six months of front-line use, causing delays before the imported shells arrive.

Artillery and mortar shells are crucial items on the front as Ukraine already struggles to match up with the better-stocked Russian forces.

According to Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, the supply of the shells in question was a result of a deal between the Defense Ministry and the Strategic Industries Ministry to purchase ammunition from a domestic producer and thus decrease dependence on foreign supplies.

Old guard pushback continues to haunt Ukraine’s arms procurement cleanup
Maryna Bezrukova immediately knew she was upsetting murky and powerful forces in Ukraine’s arms trade. Amid a push for reforms in the Defense Ministry, Bezrukova took the reins of the ministry’s Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) this January. She left behind her comfortable job at the state electric…

The outlet did not name the factory commissioned to manufacture the shells but said it was part of the state-owned defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom and was often targeted by Russian attacks.

The media investigation highlighted the Defense Ministry's supposedly inadequate quality control process. Warnings raised by some officials regarding the plant's ability to produce detonators for the shells "disappeared" during the process, and military officials failed to report initial problems with the shells that surfaced in September.

In its statement, the Defense Ministry stressed that the Strategic Industries Ministry was responsible for carrying out the order. Preliminary conclusions named low-quality charges and poor storage conditions as possible causes.

The State Bureau of Investigation has launched a criminal investigation, and "appropriate personnel decisions will be made regarding the responsible officials," the statement read. The ministry promised new measures to improve quality control and improve the inspection process at all stages.

Ukraine's defense sector has been plagued by several major procurement scandals throughout the full-scale war.

The two most notorious scandals, one regarding inflated prices for food supplies and the other connected to low-quality winter jackets, prompted the dismissal of former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Investigative Stories From Ukraine: Another procurement scandal spotlights Defense Ministry contractor
Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent’s newsletter that walks you through the most prominent investigations of the past week. If you are fond of in-depth journalism that exposes war crimes, corruption, and abuse of power across state organizations in Ukraine and beyond…
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