16-05-2025
Ukraine has paid US$770 million for weapons it has not received yet
Ukraine has transferred US$770 million to foreign arms suppliers as an advance payment, but much of this weaponry and ammunition has not been delivered.
Source: Financial Times, citing documents from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and internal materials obtained
Details: One illustrative case was the story of 28-year-old American Tanner Cook from Arizona, the owner of a small gun shop on the outskirts of Tucson.
Cook's company, OTL, was awarded a €49 million contract in 2022 to supply ammunition to the Ukrainian army. Ukraine paid €17.1 million in advance, but the ammunition was never delivered. Although the Ukrainian side won the arbitration in Vienna, the money has not yet been returned.
Documents obtained by the Financial Times show that Ukraine has lost at least US$770 million in advance payments to foreign intermediaries for weapons that have never been delivered over the three years of the war.
Internal corruption scandals exacerbate the situation: several officials responsible for defence procurement have already been dismissed, and some face charges. Dozens of contracts are being investigated for suspected abuses.
A Ukrainian court found that the state-owned company Ukrspecexport purchased 120mm mortars in April 2022 from Sudanese sellers who, it turned out, had close ties to the Russian Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Private Military Company.
Background: Ukraine became Europe's largest importer of arms between 2019 and 2023, while Russian arms exports decreased by 53% over the same period.
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