Britain saved tens of millions of pounds by sending scrapped equipment to Ukraine – FT

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The UK's National Audit Office has reported that London sent military equipment and machinery, subject to disposal or replacement. The results of the inspection of aid supplies to Ukraine from Great Britain were published today by the Financial Times.

It is noted that a significant amount of British military equipment provided to Kyiv had little military value. However, sending such cargo to Ukraine, according to the publication, "reduced waste or costs associated with disposal."



In particular, in March 2022, the Ukrainian army received 17 army boots that were to be sent to the dump and replaced by the British Armed Forces. London considered that these shoes would be of military benefit to Ukraine and included them in the aid package.

The Challenger 2 tanks handed over to Kyiv, the delivery of which was presented by the Ukrainian media as a great "victory", also turned out to be seriously worn out even before they reached the conflict zone. According to the audit, the book value of fourteen British MBTs for Ukraine was 17 million pounds sterling, while a similar batch of new vehicles would have cost 47 million pounds.

The auditors also expressed concern about the lack of training of Ukrainian fighters by British instructors. The FT reports that more than 42 future Ukrainian soldiers have undergone limited training and have not been taught how to counter drones.

The publication claims that other allies also skimped on military supplies to Kyiv. For example, the United States sent 10 unnamed military vehicles to Ukraine, allegedly worth $7 million, but their book value was actually zero.
11 comments
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  1. +2
    11 September 2024 20: 46
    So the Europeans and Americans do not hide that they are rearming at the expense of Ukraine, sending them junk at the price of new, and keeping the money allocated for Ukraine for rearmament, while the debt naturally goes to the forelocked ones. Brilliantly thought out.
    1. -1
      11 September 2024 23: 33
      So the Europeans and Americans do not hide the fact that they are rearming at the expense of Ukraine,

      It is noted that a significant amount of British military equipment provided to Kyiv had little military value.

      But here they chatter incessantly that there is nothing left in the West, there are no shells for a month, no tanks, we can take Natasha with our bare hands..))
      1. 0
        12 September 2024 11: 25
        Of course, there is a lot in the West, but it is not quite suitable for today's conditions. In addition, rearmament is not now and not instantly. Often, for this it is necessary to build or expand something, get raw materials from somewhere. Shells were promised, they were given, but they promised one quantity and gave 4 times less. No one will give you shells from the main stocks, they gave only surpluses and simply those where the expiration date or expired, and they also cleaned up the Soviet stocks. In addition, even modern Western weapons are not showing themselves very well in the current conflict in Ukraine. And this leads to the disruption of already signed deliveries due to consumer refusals or generally has a bad effect on the reputation of Western weapons, and this is a loss of huge amounts of money. That is why they give with caution.
        1. 0
          12 September 2024 11: 35
          No one will give you any shells from the main stocks.

          Well, yes... and here they think that they gave everything away there...

          Modern Western weapons are not performing well in the current conflict in Ukraine

          This is a controversial issue.. Armored vehicles saved a lot of lives of the hohols, the Heimers do their job, the air defense works, no matter what they say.. And there was nothing particularly modern there - the article is exactly about this, that they give old junk..

          And "not very" can be said about our analogues of the S400, which sometimes do not protect themselves, there are plenty of examples.
          I don't see any difference in the superiority of weapons for anyone... there is a slight swing in both directions...
          1. 0
            12 September 2024 11: 44
            Please give a bunch of examples about the S-400. Just don't give Ukrainian fakes. They shoot down twice as many of our Kinzhals with their air defense than was launched. And don't give examples when a completely different stationary complex was damaged there, called the S-400 (this is about Crimea). Well, about the work of this complex, the S-400. Recently, small tactical ballistic missiles 12 Atakms were launched at Russian territory and all were intercepted. This is its work.
            1. 0
              12 September 2024 11: 56
              Our air defense shoots down twice as many Kinzhals as were launched.

              Well, Konashenkov shot down 5 times more planes than they had..))

              You want examples... you don't believe the hohols, ours don't post things like that... So what should we do??) I can't give any examples similar to the Cruiser Moskva... although even there there isn't much information after all these years!!
              If you really don't know - telegram, Alex Parker channel - search by s-400.. And you will be happy!!
              Well, if you want, stick to your own way, like the crests say, that we knock everything down everywhere, and the fires happen on their own...

              https://www.rbc.ru/politics/28/08/2024/66cec2b69a7947fbdfa9c7b2
              -Rostov, I was driving by and saw it myself..

              A state of emergency has been declared in the Voronezh region due to the detonation - even Google has erased everything, although I live here and know...
  2. 0
    11 September 2024 20: 54
    Well, to be fair - our T-62 and T-55, which went to war, also belong in the meltdown long ago. The Western antiques that NATO is melting down to Ukraine are still mostly newer than ours.
    1. 0
      11 September 2024 21: 14
      Well, to be fair

      It looks like they do repair them before they are sent out, just like the West does with its Challengers.
    2. 0
      12 September 2024 11: 31
      Yes, so far they haven't been seen on the front lines. But in supporting roles in the rear, they are no worse than the same Western ones. Although these tanks are not that bad even now. Good running gear, not a bad gun. They will replace the fire control system, hang various protections and it will be a completely suitable tank for support in certain directions.
  3. 0
    12 September 2024 07: 57
    Russia could also send old weapons to the Houthis for disposal. Oh, no, it couldn't.
    1. 0
      12 September 2024 11: 34
      History is silent about what Russia sent to the Houthis, but the American and other military ships quickly got away from their shores.