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