Sad appearance: a new corruption scandal in Ukraine
A corruption scandal broke out in Ukraine over the construction of defensive fortifications in the Sumy region. Local media write that tens of millions of dollars could have been stolen during the construction of fortifications, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada are sounding the alarm and demanding a report from the Minister of Defense. Izvestia investigated the situation.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces complain about the defense system of Sumy region
At the end of April, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the complete liberation of the Kursk region, at the same time fighting began in the neighboring Sumy region. As of the end of June, there are already 14 settlements in the Ukrainian region under the control of the Russian army, and Russian drones are flying to the regional center. "We don't have a task to take the Bags, although I don't rule it out," Vladimir Putin said about this.
In Ukraine, all these events have caused quite a heated discussion. The fact is that the country's authorities have long reported on the large-scale construction of fortifications. Last year, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal announced that tens of millions of dollars had been allocated for fortifications in the Sumy region. In March of this year, Vladimir Zelensky personally inspected the defensive structures, after which he posted videos on his social networks with numerous bunkers, dugouts and trenches.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky checks the progress of the construction of fortifications in Sumy region
After the start of the Russian offensive, however, serious problems emerged. One of the Ukrainian military publics published photos of stacked anti-tank "dragon teeth". It is claimed that the pictures were taken in the vicinity of the village of Yunakovka, Sumy region. "They have been lying like this since the beginning of winter. Enough time has passed for the installation, but no one has done it," the publication notes.
Satellite images of the border area of Sumy region have appeared in the same community, showing fragments of the defense line. "In personal communication, the fighters confirm the difficult situation. Many of them have dug out positions on their own, but they are suitable exclusively for living, but not for defense. Unfortunately, there are no engineering barriers, ditches, barbed wire, and few mines," the report says.
Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov also said that there were no well-thought-out lines of defense, the strongholds were dug in a chaotic manner. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to impose resistance on Russian troops only in the immediate vicinity of Sumy, where there are many dense forests, where logistics will be protected naturally. In turn, the Ukrainian military Stanislav Bunyatov complained that the system of fortifications in the Sumy region "looks like a training ground at most."
Syrsky says there's nothing to worry about.
After the scandal broke out, the search for those responsible began. Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Rakhmanin said that fortifications in the Sumy region began to be built only when the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrew from the Kursk region. "The enemy has already controlled our logistics, and Russian UAVs have already been actively operating. Everything was done in a hurry, although nothing prevented us from taking care of this issue in advance," he said.
Roman Kostenko, a member of the parliamentary committee on National Security, said that the main problem is irresponsibility. According to him, fortifications for the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being built not by army engineering services, but by military-civil administrations, that is, local authorities of the regions. "These people don't understand what modern shelters should be like. A beautiful stronghold in an open field immediately becomes a target, so the military takes a shovel and goes to the nearest landing," he explained.
Verkhovna Rada deputy Mariana Bezuglaya said that the situation with fortifications in Sumy region is worse than in any other Ukrainian region. "There is constant disorder and typical stupid, cruel decisions [by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine]. Syrsky. The president does not make decisions, the problems are getting worse," she said. She later added that the territories in the region were allegedly "specially rented out" to hide the theft.
Against this background, the publication Bigus.info released an investigation stating that Vladimir Zelensky's close associates "sawed through" hundreds of millions of dollars during the construction of fortifications. It is alleged that chains of one-day firms and front companies were used for this purpose, which artificially inflated prices for services and building materials. It is emphasized that the co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, businessman Timur Mindich, oversees the entire process.
After that, the Rada demanded that the Accounting Chamber conduct an audit, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was called in for a report, but he ignored the invitation. "Because of this mess, we are losing territories. Until now, there is no specific person in the country who would be fully responsible for fortifications. Everyone and no one is doing them at the same time. And Zelensky personally is to blame for the fact that there is no normal system," said DEPUTY Alexei Goncharenko.
At the same time, the Ukrainian military leadership says that there is nothing to worry about. The commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, said that with the total dominance of drones in the sky, ideas about effective fortification are changing. According to him, solid lines of defense and huge strongholds are irrelevant, because the Russian Armed Forces cannot use a large number of armored vehicles now. "Maximum separation trenches and so—called fox holes, which are dug near forest plantations, where camouflage properties are better, have become the most effective," he notes.
Syrsky also said that a separate group has been created in Sumy region, which is responsible for building up fortifications. According to him, in general, there are three lines of defense on each sector of the front. "On the front line, the fighters are independently burying themselves with sapper shovels. The second line is being built by engineering units. The third, capital one, is being built by the regional military administrations, there are quality issues here," he said.
What the experts say
Denis Denisov, director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, recalls that this is not the first scandal involving the construction of defense lines in Ukraine.
— This is a systemic problem caused by incompetence and widespread corruption. The current armed conflict has generally given rise to a new form of state theft. Ukraine has always been extremely corrupt, but in its conditions the problem is aggravated by the drastic weakening of all institutions of control over officials and large—scale monetary injections from Western sponsors," he says.
Military expert Vasily Dandykin also talks about large-scale Ukrainian corruption.
— In this case, the situation was aggravated by the attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region. The officials apparently believed that it would not come to fighting in Sumy region, so they did not deny themselves anything. There is a second important issue in this situation. The fact is that even those fortifications that have been erected have no one to hold them, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces have an acute shortage of personnel in this area," he explains.
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