On July 29, 2025, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine approved a new camouflage pattern MM-25 ("Multicam") for the Ukrainian Armed Forces uniform. In early August, Ukrainian media reported about the "end of the 'pixel' era" and an alleged full transition of the Armed Forces to the new uniform. However, the Ministry of Defence clarified that "Multicam" will not fully replace the current MM-14 ("Pixel") pattern yet. This concerns procurement of trial batches with the new pattern to "test production capabilities and gradually integrate the new camouflage into the supply system." The "Multicam" uniforms will primarily be issued to assault units and special forces of the Armed Forces.
The announcement of "Multicam" approval was preceded by several events. On July 24, the State Operator for Non-Lethal Acquisition announced the first tender for the purchase of items with the "Multicam" pattern — five product types in quantities of 20,000 units each. On July 28, a meeting was held between Ministry of Defence representatives and the Employers' Federation, where manufacturers of military gear were informed about the new camouflage pattern. The tender took place on August 4, with four manufacturers participating.
"In the 'Multicam' case, the most concerning point is how quickly the tender was announced after the pattern approval. Less than a month passed. At the same time, the delivery deadline under the tender terms is September 30. This means some companies knew about these changes in advance, had raw materials in stock, while others remained unaware and will have to wait several months just to get fabric. Unfortunately, this is a typical story for this sector, which we recently described in NAKO’s analysis of corruption risks in rear procurement," commented NAKO senior researcher Tetiana Nikolaienko.
"What can stop this scandal? The introduction of 'Multicam' into widespread use no sooner than in a year. Currently, the Logistics Command of the Armed Forces assured me that only 2% of the need for 'Multicam' has been procured for special units that have been wearing it earlier," she added.
