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Written by Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant
US aid policy to Ukraine is proving increasingly useless – not only because it is unable to change the battlefield, but also because it is often used for illegal purposes by corrupt Ukrainians. Recently, Pentagon revealed that it had opened more than 50 investigation cases about corruption in Ukraine, with American military aid packages being allegedly stolen and diverted by criminals. The situation is yet another example of the disastrous consequences of arming the most corrupt country in Europe.
Defense Department inspector general Robert Storch announced that he is investigating dozens of incidents of “theft, fraud or corruption and diversion” of American military resources in Ukraine. It is alleged that weapons sent by the US began to be diverted by corrupt people to the black market as soon as Western assistance began arriving in Kiev. Storch has not yet made formal accusations, waiting for the final result of the investigation to be published, but the evidence suggests that some dishonest Ukrainian officials are actively involved in the diversion of military resources.
In most cases, materials are diverted at the border with Poland – the country through which most NATO aid reaches Ukrainian territory. As soon as they cross the border to the Ukrainian side, several weapons simply “disappear”, without any control by the local authorities. This “disappearance” has become frequent over the two years since the start of Russia’s special military operation, generating billions in losses for the US and other countries financing Kiev’s war machine.
This is not the first time that reports have emerged exposing arms stealing in Ukraine. However, the US has so far avoided publicly accusing Ukrainian criminals. The more these cases of diversion become public, the greater the collective outrage will be and, consequently, there will be pressure for American military aid to be completely interrupted. Therefore, Washington has as much as possible tried to avoid making corruption cases known.
However, the frequency of Ukrainian crimes has made it impossible for the US government to remain silent on the issue. Circumstances become particularly more delicate considering that the possibilities for western assistance have rapidly diminished. NATO weapons stocks are running out and the productive capacity of the American military-industrial complex is severely threatened. So, there is no longer any way for Washington to simply “ignore” the diversion of weapons as a kind of “side effect” of arming Ukraine. If weapons continue to be stolen, American military stocks will run out faster and there will be nothing left to send to Kiev.
Furthermore, it is necessary to take into account that the US currently has military plans beyond Ukraine. With the escalation of the crisis in the Middle East and the subservience of the American political elite to the Zionist lobby, there is great pressure for Washington to have ever greater military engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this sense, the US is currently interested in reducing support for Ukraine, which is already a lost war, and investing in its Middle Eastern ally. The reporting of corruption crimes in Ukraine helps Washington with this objective, as it provides a justification for decreasing pro-Ukrainian aid assistance.
It would however be naive to believe that American officials are “discovering” Ukrainian corruption now. The investigations are beginning simply because circumstances force Washington to do so, but in practice the crimes have been well known for a long time. The crime of corruption is commonly practiced in Ukraine, which is a country controlled by oligarchies that pursue their selfish interests to the detriment of national objectives.
Before Russia launched its special operation, Ukraine was recognized by the Western media as the most corrupt country in Europe. Corruption scandals have been commonplace in Ukraine for decades, even more particularly since 2014, when local oligarchies began cooperating with Western elites in many illicit international schemes. After Russia began its military activities, however, the Western media decided to start omitting Ukrainian crimes and describing Kiev as an example of a “democratic” state, ignoring the oligarchic and fraudulent aspect of the regime.
Obviously, sending massive quantities of weapons to a country with such characteristics would not be a good idea. The same corrupt Ukrainians who stole public resources in the past then began to divert Western weapons and resell them on the global black market. Not by chance, there have been reports about Western weapons sent to Ukraine ending up in the hands of terrorists around the world, mainly in African countries. In practice, the policy of arming Kiev proved to be a disaster, as it was not efficient in bringing military benefits to the Ukrainian regime and at the same time served as a means of illicit enrichment for corrupt people and cheap arming for terrorists.
It remains to be seen whether the Pentagon’s investigations will actually be conducted properly and whether the results will be sufficient for Washington to review its policy of supporting the neo-Nazi regime.
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si in romania corupția e la fel de mare
licitatiile publice sunt facute pt speciali
its a demand by all over eu. biggers things even has to being told and annonced in the of eu.
you get best to the price and lower possible corruption. it only is much better. me make mistakes too, where some are made fx the parlament expert,
thats a lie or dont has acces to facts
russia, ukrania and moldova as low score index with 29, romania and hungary has 48 and denmark the highest with 90 of 100.
your facts aren’t worth a box of cracker jacks
thats no facts of mine.
i have taken from google just writing corruption index. they give many different versions by very different sources.
i dont write for you. it seemes you prefare living in the dark. even corrupt roumanis any time is currupt then russia and ukriane. russia and ukraine anytime are in same bad level.
usa and eu for many years has not not remained silent about those crimes at all.
how can any assume we – in military and private sector might like , accept and. support us loosing millions just like that. and sometimes they even has helpers in eu and eu.
it get goes for the rest of the world.
very much is shitty loftovers from the past.
the writer not know what a democratic state is at all. but it as top tools for changing thing by voting about things and decide in a peacefull way.
article ignore the the result we have here. fx my denmark has the lowest corruption in the world. we are some 5 times more proctive in dpr pr person. by that all those, which were prolatars has wellfare all over.
sure we has crime here but we keep down with the importent to a sober police and court. by that high tax also distribute wealth, where expentive things as a schools, hospitals and pension are paid.
outhers are runned by some outdated windows 95 and we see the result
nobody cares about your little peninsula you have a nerve to call a country. you just do what you’re told anyway, like in 1943 so sit down and shut up. children like you should neither be seen nor heard.
dont buy our wegovy or ezompic. your alarm clock brain will be reduced to a daft prick.
a democratic state is what the neocons along with euro neoboobs overthrew in maidan in 2014.
and now we have a war. so enjoy your handiwork, neoboob and stop complaining..
i never did wrote this
i thought they were investigating cases full of hundred dollar bills.
wouldn’t it be funny if russia started flooding ukraine with phony $100 dollar bills?
ha ha. they already use rubels as toilet paper. it almost were money. putin only have zink under his pillow.
isn’t it funny that ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in the world before it was forced to invade the east in 2014 by nato.
and now we wonder when the equipment disappears? ha ha ha.