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NBCFeb 01
Ukrainian Defense Officials Accused of $40M Arms Fraud
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The Facts
In an announcement made Saturday, Ukraine's security service said it had discovered a fraudulent scheme worth about $40M affecting the purchase of arms for the country's military.
The SBU has implicated both former and current defense ministry officials, as well as arms supplier Lviv Arsenal's managers, in the alleged embezzling of 1.5B hryvnias, which had been set aside to procure 100K mortar shells.
The Spin
Narrative A
Ukraine isn't a corrupt state, making it all the more shocking that officials are siphoning off donor money when the nation's survival is at stake. The West must rethink giving Ukraine billions of dollars in military aid, especially as Kyiv doesn't look serious about clamping down on fraud, despite the issue being one of the conditions for securing membership in the EU.
Narrative B
Ukraine should be applauded for its efforts to battle wartime corruption. While its troops fight a war on the ground, the reputational clean-up continues in Kyiv. Any attempts to block much-needed aid in the fight against the Russian invasion must be quashed — Ukraine's war on corruption cannot be given precedence over its years-long battle to safeguard its sovereignty.