Many of the weapons provided to Ukraine by the US and its allies have either required fixing or had to be cannibalized for parts, the New York Times reported on Monday. Kiev has also complained that equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars and bought on contract has not yet been delivered.
As proof, the Times cited documents provided by Ukrainian officials on condition of anonymity, frustrated with the West saying they had enough weapons for an offensive against Russia. The Ukrainian attack, which began earlier this month, has resulted in heavy losses of men and equipment without much to show for it.
Up to 30% of Ukraine’s arsenal is undergoing repairs at any given time, according to the outlet, while a lot of the Western equipment arrives “in poor or unusable condition.”
One case in point involved 33 American M109 howitzers donated by Italy. According to Rome, they had been decommissioned years ago, but Ukraine asked for them to be refurbished for use. An American contractor was paid $19.8 million to do the repairs. In January, they delivered 13 of the guns, which arrived “not suitable for combat missions,” according to one Ukrainian document.