Ukrainian Officials Steal $40 Million Earmarked for Ammunitions

Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) has uncovered massive fraud which involves approximately $40 million in funds that were intended to purchase military ammunition but were never delivered.

Several high ranking officials within the Ministry of Defense and management figures from Lviv Arsenal, an arms supplier, were implicated in the scheme. According to the SSU, the embezzled funds didn’t come from foreign aid but from the state budget.

The $40 million in funds earmarked for the purchase of 100,000 mortar shells were transferred to a foreign commercial entity and then rerouted to an affiliated organization in the Balkans. When the ammunition never arrived, questions started being asked.

A statement by the SSU read: “After receiving the funds, the company’s management transferred part of the money to the balance sheet of a foreign commercial structure that was supposed to deliver the ordered ammunition to Ukraine… However, it did not send a single artillery shell to our country, and took the received funds into the shadows, transferring them to the accounts of another affiliated structure in the Balkans.”

Five individuals have received “notices of suspicion” which is a precursor to formal legal proceedings in Ukraine with one of the suspects being detained whilst attempting to cross the Ukrainian border. If convicted, those involved in the scheme could face up to 12 years in prison.

How does this impact the United States?

In an interview with Fox News, Senator Rand Paul said the Ukraine Bill that is currently being negotiated in the Senate will offer $11 billion in “humanitarian assistance” that will go in part to Ukraine with funds also going to Gaza.

Senator Paul said, “it’s sort of bizarre that we fund both sides of every war. You know, they’re gonna expect us to clean up and repair Ukraine when it’s done being destroyed … but I don’t think that we should always have to pay for everything. When did we become the sugar daddy of the world?”

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said in a letter that the Senate bill would be “dead on arrival” in the House of Representatives.

In a recent report coming out of the Pentagon, it was exposed that around $1 billion in military aid that was sent to Ukraine wasn’t properly accounted for. The report also revealed that there were serious lapses in tracking critical weapons systems. This has become one of the many factors contributing to discussions about United States further assisting Ukraine monetarily and militarily.

According to the report, the unaccounted for arsenal includes advanced shoulder-fired missiles, kamikaze drones, and sophisticated night vision devices.

Discussions are currently underway both in Washington and Brussels regarding Ukraine joining the European Union, as well as the provision of additional financial and military assistance to the country after several controversies have arisen stemming from the nation.

The lack of accountability in Ukraine also involves America which should cause us, the citizenry, to use extreme caution when offering our support for what has and is taking place in the nation.

It is irresponsible and even hypocritical for nations to use their citizen’s money to fund foreign wars and the building of border defenses when their own nation is suffering.

Yes, we must pray for a swift resolution that is just but we must couple those prayers with action. We must be the ones who speak into the halls of government, demanding justice and accountability on this issue, otherwise, there very well may be none.

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