What's Behind Ukraine Accusing Russia of Axing Its Weapon Deals?

Kiev is on a blame spree as money flows from the West have dwindled. Now Ukrainian military contractors are accusing Russia of sabotaging their efforts to buy arms abroad — but that the only "reason" foreign states could be reluctant to sell weapons to Ukraine?

Moscow is routinely hindering Kiev's efforts to buy weapons abroad, Ukrainian Armored Technology CEO Vladislav Belbas claimed in an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper which was published on December 21.

"In one country, on the other side of the world, we found fighter jets and began to negotiate the purchase. The seller was ready and the [Ukrainian] Ministry of Defense confirmed that [jets] were needed. Suddenly, one of the letters about this agreement fell into the hands of the Russians," Belbas told the media, complaining that Russian diplomats immediately stepped in and facilitated the cancellation of the deal.

Reading between the lines it is easy to see that the Ukrainian leadership is growing desperate about dwindling Western aid amid its botched counteroffensive, and is conjuring the spectre of Russian "interference", Andrei Koshkin, Soviet and Russian Army veteran, reserve colonel and military expert, told Sputnik.

He pointed out that someone within the Ukrainian ranks must have leaked the information to Russia, indicating that infighting and betrayal are on the rise.

"There was a leak of information, and [Russia] took appropriate measures through diplomatic channels and, as expected, stopped supplies. Everything was correct and in accordance with the rules of warfare," Koshkin explained.

Ukraine Image Tarnished With Endemic Corruption

Russia's alleged interference is not the only reason why some foreign officials could be reluctant to sell weapons to Kiev. Foreign governments are well aware of the endemic corruption in Ukraine, the expert noted.

In 2022-2023, Ukrainian contractors were repeatedly involved in corruption scandals concerning the purchase of weapons, including from foreign sellers.

"Joe Biden, when he was vice president, once came to Poroshenko, sat in his chair and said that Ukraine is the most corrupt country in the world," Koshkin said. "This is how he assessed Ukraine. But he voiced this assessment when he was vice president, and now no one is concealing this. And it must be said that this is precisely the sensitive issue when they negotiate purchases. Naturally, they took money from the flow that was poured into [Ukraine] from Washington and Brussels. They took as much as they wanted. And now there is nothing to take because no money is flowing into Ukraine. So they began to betray each other."

US media reported in October 2022 that Washington had begun on-site inspections in Ukraine to keep track of the arms it supplied, following a series of reports alleging that US weapons were vanishing in Ukraine.

In April 2022, CNN quoted US officials and Pentagon sources as saying that "the US has few ways to track the substantial supply of anti-tank, anti-aircraft and other weaponry it has sent across the border into Ukraine." According to them, there was a real threat of US arms ending up in the wrong hands.

In September, the Defense Department inspector-general revealed that a senior official from the US arrived in Ukraine in mid-August to monitor ongoing US security assistance to Kiev. This team was expanded in late September. However, it is unlikely that they would manage to put an end to the misappropriation, Sputnik's commentators believe.

"The Ukrainian military-industrial complex is perceived as corrupt," Boris Rozhin, an expert at the Center for Information and Geopolitical Research, told Sputnik. "This is well-known not only in Russia or Ukraine, but also in the West. We know that… weapons from Ukraine ended up in the Middle East, Yemen, and other countries. It is no coincidence that the United States has appointed inspectors who are supposed to monitor the movement of American aid in Ukraine if it goes beyond the borders of Ukraine."

While Western structures that provide military aid to Ukraine are well aware of rampant theft in the Eastern European country, that does not mean that they are free from corruption themselves, the expert remarked.

"The same happened during the war in Afghanistan and during a number of other conflicts during which NATO and the United States supplied weapons [to one of the sides]. This situation is not surprising and it is quite reasonable to assume that there is also a certain corruption component there. That is, some money is simply laundered there on arms supplies, when there is no clear oversight of how and whatthey are spent upon," Rozhin concluded.