Purchase of defective mortars for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: SBU declares suspicion against former Defense Ministry official
Фото: СБУ
The former director of the Department of Military-Technical Policy, Armament Development and Military Equipment of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is suspected of involvement in the procurement of defective mortars for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2023.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine.
According to the SBU, the suspect was exposed by military counterintelligence with the assistance of the Ministry of Defense.
The investigation established that the purchase involved 250 120 mm mortars that did not meet the tactical and technical characteristics declared by the manufacturer.
The SBU notes that the supply of low-quality weapons harmed Ukraine’s defense capability. In addition, the use of defective mortars posed a threat to the lives and health of servicemen of the artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front line.
According to the investigation, the suspect, while in office, entered into a contract with an unverified foreign company for the production of artillery weapons for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
However, instead of weapons that met the stated technical requirements, the contractor delivered low-quality mortars to the Ministry of Defense warehouses, the use of which in combat conditions was prohibited. Despite this, the funds under the contract were fully transferred to the manufacturer.
The SBU reported that the results of the audit and engineering and mechanical examination confirmed the facts of the former official’s illegal activities.
Investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the SBU informed him of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power or official position, which caused grave consequences).
The sanction of the article provides for up to 6 years of imprisonment.
A pre-trial investigation is currently underway to establish all the circumstances of the case and bring other persons involved to justice. All defective mortars have already been withdrawn from the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It was previously reported that the SBU and BEB exposed a company that was embezzling budget funds allocated for the construction of a command post of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zhytomyr region .
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