This information was first published by military analyst Sergey Zgurets. Ukrainian News reports on this matter.

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According to Zgurets, on December 31, 2024, "under the Christmas tree," the director of the Agency, Marina Bezkrovna, approved a contract for several hundred thousand anti-tank mines manufactured in "1941+". As Zgurets notes, these are M6A2 mines—anti-tank mines produced in the USA, which were decommissioned in the 1960s.

Military correspondent for TSN, Yulia Kirienko, is even more categorical: "It seems that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are once again operating on the principle: 'Here you go, God, what doesn’t suit me,' and they are signing this contract on December 31. But what is alarming is that to check the condition of these mines (i.e., their quality), we have to pay 10% of the contract's cost. This means we are being asked to part with a huge sum of millions of euros just to find out if the mine will explode.

Currently, anti-tank mines are in real shortage, unfortunately. As noted in their own release on the evening of January 14, the "Defense Procurement Agency" states, "there is a very high demand from the Armed Forces of Ukraine for anti-tank mines along the entire front line; although the production of anti-tank mines is fully contracted by the Agency, it is unable to meet that demand." Thus, it can be concluded that the Defense Procurement Agency, by signing contracts for all new anti-tank mines, has "gone off the rails" and signed a contract for scrap metal at high, even for new mines, prices.

According to Soviet standards, the shelf life of TNT in mines is no more than 60 years under ideal storage conditions, while according to American standards, it is only 35 years, journalists point out. The M6A2 mine contains 5.4 kg of TNT. Based on current prices, the cost of such a mine should be several hundred euros, but definitely not 600. Moreover, in many countries, mines of such vintage are disposed of, and they even pay a lot for this service because storing such outdated items is extremely dangerous!

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"At the same time, the Bulgarian company acts as an intermediary, not a manufacturer of mines. Although the Defense Procurement Agency claims that one of its achievements in 2024 is the expansion of contracts specifically with direct manufacturers of equipment and weapons. However, it seems that the relationship between the leadership of the Defense Procurement Agency and the management of the Bulgarian company is enduring the test of time just as successfully as TNT. Although, of course, this is merely speculation," Zgurets writes.

American M6A2 mines have never been available in such quantities in Bulgarian warehouses, meaning the Bulgarian intermediary was likely chosen merely to cover the financial transaction; the real supplier will be another country. As the Agency points out, "the mines are located within a NATO country."

"The final price of the contract may be revised downwards after the inspection and testing of the goods," states the Defense Procurement Agency on its Facebook page, shyly neglecting to mention that a price revision is not stipulated in the terms of the already signed contract.

One can only imagine how many tens of millions of euros each participant in this scheme will earn from the contract worth 230 million euros, signed by the Defense Procurement Agency and the dubious Bulgarian intermediary.