The Defense Ministry agency has signed a €160 million contract for night vision devices—high price, low quality.

The country has yet to recover from the €200 million contract for anti-tank mines signed "under the tree" on December 31, when it became known that on the same day, Marina Bezrukova signed a contract for 24,000 low-quality night vision devices for €164 million, and at a price higher than in Ukrainian military auctions.

This was reported in an investigation by military analyst Sergey Zgurets, as noted on the "Facts" portal.

The last day of 2024 was quite productive for the head of the Defense Procurement Agency, Marina Bezrukova – in just one day, she managed to sign contracts worth over 25 billion hryvnias.

The contract involved the B31U night vision binoculars, manufactured by the Turkish company "3E". There are many advertisements for this device on the Ukrainian retail market – prices range from 180,000 to 240,000 hryvnias (approximately €4,200 to €5,500 per unit).

Meanwhile, the Defense Procurement Agency contracted an exceptionally large wholesale batch directly from the manufacturer at €6,700! This is despite the fact that the Agency does not pay import duties and VAT, which smaller retail stores cannot guarantee.

According to the technical specifications, the device indeed has the advertised Figure of Merit (FOM) of 1600, which is already considered a low indicator for military use, but one can only see something with the B31U during a full moon or with light from external sources (such as from windows). Under a normal starry sky or in the forest, this device is nearly helpless and can detect an enemy only at very close range.

The 2+ generation electro-optical converters used in the B31U are suitable for hunting but not for combat against a technological enemy. The electro-optical converters lack brightness adjustment, and the device as a whole does not meet the military protection standard IP67 – it simply cannot withstand battlefield conditions.

Will the Agency explain to the Ministry of Defense why Ukrainian soldiers need 24,000 night vision devices that will not help them see the enemy, and how such a contract could result in overpayment of tens of millions of euros?