Welcome to Ukraine, the most corrupt nation in Europe
An article in a Canadian daily about the shortage of military equipment, theft and corruption in Ukraine.
An article in a Canadian daily about the shortage of military equipment, theft and corruption in Ukraine.
The disconnect between the weapons pledges made to Ukraine by western governments and the reality for tens of thousands of front-line fighters is jarring.
, a former Canadian Armed Forces sniper, said soldiers were sent into battle with four spare magazines with bullets — less than half the minimum 10 magazines that Canadian soldiers carry into combat.
The Canadian volunteer fighter and veteran of the French Foreign Legion said the American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles are being delivered to the front without enough lithium batteries, which are nonrechargeable and last just four hours.
“You need a stockpile of them,” he said. “When I spoke with one of the guys here, I asked, ‘Where are all the other batteries?’ … You’re supposed to have three or four in each case, but he only had the one.”
Police in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia arrested a government employee last month for the illegal sale of firearms and ammunition. It is alleged that the head of a local rescue team was selling weapons intended to be used on the front against Russian soldiers, including an anti-tank grenade launcher, two Kalashnikov rifles and a quantity of rifle cartridges.
Ukraine has what the Global Organized Crime Index in 2021 “one of the largest arms trafficking markets in Europe.” Experts have called for greater accountability and tighter controls over weapons shipments, in part to ensure that they are not diverted to the black market or for the personal profit of public officials.