How can the US deliver for Ukraine as many of the promised weapons as possible before the end of Biden's term?
One way is to fund Ukraine's Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) by providing money for US-made weapons. "Americans’ tax dollars would be safely held by the most credibly reformed and reputably led wing of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry," writes Foreign Policy.
The publication stresses that the agency contracts directly with manufacturers, not through intermediaries who actively oppose this approach. "Most recently, these intermediaries tried to sideline Bezrukova by getting Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to merge her agency into another one—and fire her in the process," it says.
Both NATO and Ukrainian civil society, including NAKO, opposed the merger of the two procurement agencies. As a result of the public outcry, the Ministry of Defence abandoned the idea. Instead, the agency was given a supervisory board of Ukrainian and international experts.
In order for DPA to attract US funding, Ukraine must ensure that the agency continues to exist as an independent institution, concludes Foreign Policy.
