Due to poor planning, the Ministry of Defense spent 50 billion hryvnias on ammunition, but the army still has a shortage – Butusov

To effectively conduct military operations, the state must effectively plan and analyze the capabilities of manufacturers when making defense purchases.

Yuriy Butusov, commander of the Charter brigade’s unmanned systems platoon, announced this in a video .

He emphasized that artillery is no less important a tool on the battlefield, but is irreplaceable.

“We have a shortage of artillery shells, no matter what anyone says. We don’t have enough cannons, especially 155mm ones. We had a shameful situation when, in 2024, the Pavlohrad Chemical Plant received a 50 billion hryvnia order to organize the production of many types of shells,” Butusov noted.

The commander emphasized that there were no questions for the plant’s workers, but they lacked the expertise, production lines, gunpowder, components, or blasting equipment in the required quantities.

“And they didn’t perform a miracle. As a result, the state spent a huge amount of money and didn’t receive the ammunition it wanted. And our money was stuck for a year. We simply wasted that time scraping together pennies for weapons. The money went down the drain,” he said.

Butusov recalled that the director of the Pavlograd plant and several executives were detained and that criminal proceedings are pending against them.

He emphasized the need to study the market and determine what gunpowder and fuses are available. Orders should be calculated.

In order to fight not with people, but with shells and drones, it is necessary to plan well, analyze the capabilities of manufacturers, their competencies, and whether enterprises are capable of doing this, the commander noted.

“But Mr. Umerov (then the Minister of Defense) didn’t do this. They gave the Ministry of Strategic Industry and the Ministry of Defense an order worth over a billion dollars for something that wasn’t produced. We lost a year’s worth of money that could have been used to purchase drones, shells, explosives, anything,” Butusov noted.

He noted that the statements made by the new Defense Minister, Fedorov, are based on analysis. The minister has been to the front and visited the commanders of the best units, corps, regiments, and brigades. Therefore, Butusov hopes for systemic solutions in the near future.

“An audit of losses requires an audit of the unsuccessful management and political decisions that have had a devastating impact on our defenses and continue to do so,” Butusov concluded.