On November 29, Prime Minister Shmyhal made a unique decision based on the proposal from Defense Minister Umerov: the State Border Guard Service received 23 billion hryvnias from the Ministry of Defense for procurement... from the Ministry of Defense! This was first announced by military expert and journalist Sergey Zgurets.
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SubscribeThe author of the project "Our Money," Yuri Nikolov, describes this as the largest "one-time" scam of the year: "it's about 'cutting and running' plus 'this is for the elections, in case we win'."
Journalist Tatyana Nikolaenko from "Cenozor.NET" investigated why the government decided so quickly to transfer funds from the Ministry of Defense to the State Border Guard Service. "It's worth addressing the following logical question: who will supply the State Border Guard Service? The supply contract will go to the Polish company 'PHU Lechmar.' "The Poles offered the border guards a bunch of shells, mines, and ammunition for reactive artillery. The Poles have no production of their own. This is pure 'buy-sell,' especially considering their already tarnished reputation due to failed deliveries to Ukraine during the war," writes Yuri Nikolov. "At this point, the Ministry of Defense should have had the reflex to pass the issue to their own 'Defense Procurement Agency.' It exists precisely for the purpose of purchasing weapons in large volumes, driving prices down, and checking who they are dealing with—whether they are con artists or honest suppliers of available weapons. And then transferring them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
"The prices offered by the Polish intermediary are higher for certain items than what Ukraine has been purchasing so far. It’s strange that they require 100% prepayment—not only for the available ammunition but even for those planned for delivery in 2025 from production," writes Sergey Zgurets.
"Umerov asked to withdraw the 23 billion hryvnias from his own 'Defense Procurement Agency,' which was specifically created to cut out dubious suppliers." – Nikolov. "Thus, this entire situation leaves a very subjective impression that large sums of money needed to be transferred to a specific structure, plus there was a strong desire to once again showcase the inefficiency of the Defense Procurement Agency," concludes Tatyana Nikolaenko in her article.