In Ukraine, Fraud and Waste Are Rewarded With More Weapons Contracts

Submission Statement: Secret military audits obtained by The New York Times show Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency is riddled with mismanagement. In 2024 alone, Ukraine lost $1.2 billion to fraud and waste.

Seven of Ukraine’s top 10 military contractors won new business despite open criminal investigations for fraud, failures to deliver on earlier deals or the arrest of chief executives for corruption, according to the government audits obtained by The Times, court records and Ukrainian news accounts.

Companies won contracts without demonstrating that they could supply the weapons, or without licenses to deliver them. Auditors identified 18 companies that signed deals despite defaulting on previous agreements. Six of those companies failed to fulfill a single contract.