"Paper" mortars for the army: former director of a Ministry of Defense department suspected of abuse

They missed and broke quickly: the Ukrainian Armed Forces received defective weapons worth 182 million

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08 Jul 2026

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The former director of the Department of Military-Technical Policy, Armament and Military Equipment Development of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine was notified of suspicion over the purchase of 250 unfit 120-millimeter mortars for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported on July 8 2026 by Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko.

According to the investigation, under the state contract for the purchase of foreign-made mortars, suppliers were transferred more than UAH 182 million in advance. As stated in another report, the purchase was made in 2023, and the contract was concluded with an unverified foreign company. After the weapons arrived at the Ministry of Defence warehouses, it turned out that they did not provide the necessary firing accuracy, quickly broke down and were effectively unfit for combat use. Comprehensive forensic examinations and the results of using the mortars in combat conditions confirmed their non-compliance with the stated characteristics. Attempts to fix the defects yielded no results. The military called these mortars “paper”.

The investigation believes that the official, when concluding the contract, did not ensure proper quality control and did not provide for mandatory testing of the product’s tactical and technical characteristics. As a result, the state purchased weapons without confirmation of their compliance with established requirements. The former official is accused of abuse of office that caused grave consequences. A decision on a preventive measure for him is currently being made. The perpetrator faces up to 6 years in prison. The investigation continues to bring all guilty persons to account.

Currently all defective samples of artillery weapons have been removed from the units of the Armed Forces. The Prosecutor General’s Office emphasized that this is not only about financial losses, since supplying faulty weapons means loss of time, combat capabilities and an additional risk to the lives of servicemen.