This year, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is unable to spend the annual defence budget as planned. In 2021, the Ukrainian army was supposed to receive 421 items of automotive equipment. The actual number is far less. In 11 months, the MOD procured only 122 items of automotive equipment as a part of the state defence order. For now, it is unclear if the remaining 299 items can be purchased during the last month of the year.
Three military ships should have been repaired and an arms depot should have been renovated this year, according to the budget-funded program “Development, procurement, modernization, and maintenance of armament, military equipment, means, and hardware.” As of November, nothing has happened.
This was established by NAKO by comparing the MOD’s 2021 plans against the Ministry’s actual spending. The information was provided by the MOD in response to an official request by MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn.
The MOD procured 122 items of automotive equipment during the first 11 months of 2021. Therefore, it is very unlikely that they will procure almost 300 items during the last month of the year. There is a risk that the Ministry will follow its traditional logic of redirecting funds due to failure to make timely procurements. In this case, it would be possible to report that all or almost all funds were duly spent.
This possibility also follows from our analysis of the MOD’s response. At the beginning of the year, it planned to procure 69 items of communications equipment. However, payment was made for 807 items. According to the plan, 37 air drones should have been procured, but in fact 12 more items were purchased, for a total of 49 air drones.Unfortunately, it is not possible to establish what kind of equipment was not supplied or which ships were not renovated. This is because procurements of all military equipment and armaments in Ukraine are kept secret.