Corruption Plagues Ukraine Defense Ministry, More Funds
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Raven Ruma
- . December 6, 2023
- . Update: December 6, 2023 4:00 pm
With billions of dollars flowing into Ukraine to help fight off Russia and keep its sovereignty, the country is riddled with corruption and mismanagement of funds. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry and army has been rift with corruption.
Oleksandr Klymenko, head of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, said they are investigating alleged corruption in arms procurement. “There are several proceedings related to arms procurement, contracts that amount from €10 to €100 million.” He highlighted that Ukrainian authorities have not received any complaints from Western allies that have provided the weapons.
Klyemnko said the allegations never concerned the military and financial aid given to Ukraine by Western countries. “We constantly inform our partners that if they have information that indicates corruption, misuse of the assistance provided, we are ready to put it as a top priority and start an investigation.”
US Has No Funds for Ukraine
Ukraine continues to seek funds to fight the war and has been pleading the US for financial and military help against Russian forces. But this time, it seems President Volodymyr Zelensky has hit a wall. The American lawmakers want to prioritize their border security rather than provide additional funding to Ukraine.
Kyiv had requested $106 billion from the White House. Word is that the United States has run out of money. Shalanda Young, Office of Management and Budget director, in a letter to House and Senate leaders said if Ukraine’s economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop. She warned that the US will run out of funding to send weapons and assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year.
“We are out of money, and nearly out of time. I want to be clear – without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine, and to provide equipment from the US military stocks. There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment.”
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Ukraine Will Lose
Andriy Yermak, President Zelensky’s chief of staff, says if the US doesn’t provide military funding, Ukraine could lose its war with Russia. He said the lack of funding could make it impossible to liberate more funding captured by Russia. “If the help which is now debating in Congress will be just postponed, it gives the big risk that we can be in the same position where we’re located now. That is why it is extremely critically important that this support will be voted and will be voted as soon as possible.”
The US Congress has already allocated $111 billion to assist Ukraine. This includes $67 billion in military procurement funding, $27 billion for economic and civil assistance and $10 billion for humanitarian aid.
