rt.com 7 Aug, 2022 16:17
HomeRussia & FSU
70% of Western weapons sent to Ukraine don’t reach troops - CBS
Report suggests US appears to be repeating the mistakes of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria
FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces member holds an anti-tank weapon on the outskirts of Kiev, Ukraine, March 9, 2022 © AP / Efrem Lukatsky
With the US and its allies pledging unprecedented levels of military support to Ukraine, a recent CBS News report suggested that only around 30% of the weapons sent by the West actually make it to the front lines. The report adds to ongoing rumors of waste, corruption, and black market profiteering.
The US has approved more than $54 billion of economic and military aid to Ukraine since February, while the UK has committed nearly $3 billion in military aid alone, and the EU has spent another $2.5 billion on arms for Kiev. An entire spectrum of equipment, from rifles and grenades to anti-tank missiles and multiple launch rocket systems have left the West’s armories for Ukraine, with most entering the country through Poland.
However, this rarely goes smoothly, CBS News revealed this week.
“All of this stuff goes across the border, and then something happens, kind of like 30% of it reaches its final destination,”Jonas Ohman, the founder of a Lithuania-based organization supplying the Ukrainian military, told the American network. Ohman said that getting the weapons to the troops involves navigating a complex network of
“power lords, oligarchs [and] political players.”